


a crooked love in a straight line down

by HeartonFire



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Custody Battle, Divorce, Eventual Smut, F/M, Feelings, Romance, Single Parents, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:48:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21626344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartonFire/pseuds/HeartonFire
Summary: Frank Castle is a newly-divorced History teacher at the local high school. Karen Page is the single mom of a seventeen-year-old honor student on his debate team. Their paths cross too many times for it to be coincidence, and neither of them can deny the attraction they feel. But things can never be that simple, especially when Karen's ex comes back into the picture and threatens to upend the life she's built for herself.
Relationships: Frank Castle & Curtis Hoyle, Frank Castle & David "Micro" Lieberman, Frank Castle/Karen Page
Comments: 109
Kudos: 234





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is: the single parent/teacher AU that no one asked for, but that I can't stop thinking about. Initially inspired by [this edit](https://headedstraightforthekastle.tumblr.com/post/183174201323/kastle-single-mother-teacher-au). Enjoy!

It had been a long time since Karen had wondered how she had ended up here, in this life. Most of the time, she was too caught up in paying bills, working double shifts, and taking care of everyone around her to notice. But now, here, she had to wonder.

That was her daughter, up there on a stage, participating in a debate like a star lawyer. Her beautiful, seventeen-year-old daughter was arguing passionately that the death penalty should be outlawed, and listing out all the statistics and data to back it up. She could see the other team’s heads falling to their chests as she kept speaking.

Karen was in awe. How on earth had she created something so incredible?

She had always been smart. Her mom and dad had always told her that. Her teachers had always said she was gifted. She had always done well.

But then, her mom got sick, and the pressure grew until it was unbearable. She hardly remembered her last year of high school. The combination of work, homework, school, and all the drugs was too much. She was trying to hard to keep everything together, and then it all fell apart anyway. College slipped away, and so did she. She let herself fall into Todd, into using, to avoid the grief, but it just brought more to her doorstep. She still woke up sweating and crying with the memory of the crash, all these years later.

She didn’t know she was pregnant until her dad had already kicked her out. She was homeless, adrift. Lost. And now she had another life to worry about. She broke down and cried when the stick turned blue, but the idea of taking care of someone gave her a new focus.

She got clean, got a new job at a diner in a new town, and got to work. By the time the baby was born, she had a one-bedroom apartment and a steady job.

Ellie was born right on time, and far to soon. Karen still wasn’t ready, but it wasn’t up to her. She named her after her mom, but she couldn’t bring herself to call her daughter Penny. The sorrow was still too deep. Every time she looked at her little girl, she remembered her mom, her brother, her family. She didn’t have time to mourn, but the grief followed her anyway.

It never left. It chased her like a shadow, as hard as she tried to push it away. She didn’t date, she didn’t go out. She made a few friends at work, to pass the time at the diner, but her whole life was Ellie.

As Ellie grew, she pushed her mom to have her own life. Karen had tried that, and she knew she couldn’t be trusted. Not when she had something so important to protect.

Her daughter was good. Her daughter was sweet. Her daughter had all her smarts and none of her stupid decisions. She sometimes worried she had forced them both into a life that wasn’t enough for either of them, but they were happy. They were best friends. They were everything to each other.

So, when Ellie asked her to come to school to see her debate, Karen couldn’t say no. She found the time, between shifts. Ellie had never joined anything before. She had always been so shy, and now she was going to be speaking in front of a room full of people. Karen wouldn’t miss it for the world.

When it was over, Karen had tears in her eyes. She hugged her daughter so hard even her protests were muffled.

“Mom,” she said, smiling even through her grumbles. “You’re so embarrassing.”

“I know. But you love me anyway.”

Before Ellie could respond, Karen noticed a man making his way across the room towards them. 

“That’s Mr. Castle,” Ellie said, waving at him. “My History teacher. He’s the debate coach.”

She had never seen anyone quite like this man. He was stocky, strong, with a confidence to him that was palpable from across the room. He looked more like a soldier than a teacher, with close-cropped hair and a shadow of stubble on his face. He wasn’t handsome, at least not in the traditional way, but the best way she could describe him was rugged, like a fantasy of a lumberjack from some romance novel. She half-expected him to pull out an axe and start chopping wood, right there in the auditorium.

“Great job, Ellie,” he said, smiling at her. “See? I knew you could do it. You didn’t even look nervous up there.”

“Thanks, Mr. Castle.” She gestured to Karen. “This is my mom.”

“Karen Page.” Karen was pleased her voice came out steady. She hadn’t been so instantly attracted to a man in a long time. Maybe ever. She held out a hand and he took it, skin rough and warm under hers. 

“Frank Castle. Pleasure to meet you. Ellie talks about you all the time.”

She blushed. “All good things, I hope.”

“Of course.” His smile was gentle, but Karen noticed it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow, Ellie. It was nice to meet you, Karen.”

Karen tried not to let her eyes linger on him as he disappeared, but she didn’t quite manage it. There was something about him. Something deeper that she wanted to uncover. 

“Can we go, or do you want to keep staring at my teacher?”

Karen nudged Ellie with her shoulder and they headed out to the car. “Oh, stop.”

“No, I think it’s cute. I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“I’m not like anything.” She started the car and sped off, faster than she really had to. She was not having this conversation. It was just a momentary attraction. It was bound to happen sometime. “He’s your teacher, and I’m your mom. End of story.”

Ellie was smirking as she sank back into the seat, but she just folded her arms and watched her mom’s face. Karen tried to keep it as still as possible.

She was never going to have to see him again, and that was fine. That was good. She didn’t have time for that kind of thing anyway.

* * *

“So, you have a crush on a mom? So what?”

Frank wasn’t exactly sure how Lieberman had ended up invited to after-work drinks that Friday, but there he was, laughing his ass off. He liked the computer science teacher just fine, but watching him nearly fall out of his chair at the idea of Frank having a crush was more than he could take.

“I don’t have a crush.” They might work at a high school, but they didn’t have to talk like high schoolers. “All I said was, I met Ellie’s mom and she’s younger than I expected.”

Curt choked on the beer he was trying to swallow. “Uh, that’s not all you said. I seem to recall that you used the word ‘pretty’ when you told us about her.”

“Shut up.” Frank felt his face heating and tried to cover it with his glass. Beer wasn’t strong enough for this. “Can I get a whiskey?”

He could practically feel the look passing between David and Curt. He couldn’t even glance at them or he was going to lose it.

“Listen,” Curt said, in that soothing, doctor voice that made him so good at coaching students through their Biology exams. “You’ve been divorced for three years, buddy. It’s about time to get back in there.”

He shook his head. “I can’t do that. I’m not ready.”

The bartender slid his whiskey across the bar and Frank slammed it back. The alcohol burned its way down his throat and settled his stomach, which had definitely not been twisting with anything resembling butterflies.

“My kids deserve stability. I’m not going to throw that away. Not for anything. Now, let’s drop it.” And never talk about it again, he hoped.

Curt nodded, but Frank saw Lieberman open his mouth to say something and shot him a glare that got him to shut his mouth for once.

It wasn’t like Frank was lonely, exactly. He had friends, he had his colleagues. He had his kids, at least every other weekend. He and Maria were okay. He was fine.

Staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom, he tried to remind himself of that. He tried not to wonder how it would feel to have someone lying beside him again. 

It didn’t matter. He meant what he said. His kids deserved stability, and they didn’t need to have him running around with every woman he thought was pretty. Even if she did have gorgeous blue eyes and long, blonde hair he could bury his face in. Even if her smile was just fragile enough to break his heart.

He shook his head. “She’s a parent.” That was the end of it. She was the parent of one of his students, and that was a line he wasn’t willing to cross. Ever.

By the next morning, all thoughts of Ellie’s mom had left his head. His kids were coming over, and that had to be his focus.

“Dad!” Lisa’s voice made his heart swell as she threw herself into his arms. She was almost too big for it, but he didn’t care. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, sweetheart.” He did. Every time they left, a piece of him left with them.

“Hey, Frank.” Maria waved from the car. The first few times they did this, she had insisted on coming inside, making sure everything was up to her standards, but after three years, she trusted him. It was more than he deserved.

“What are we going to do today, Dad?” Frankie asked, smiling up at him.

“Thought we might go to the park, throw a ball around.”

“Okay.” He shrugged, hefting his backpack further up onto his shoulder. He trudged into the house and Frank watched him go. He worried about his son. He worried about both his kids. He didn’t see them enough, but he didn’t really want to push things. He and Maria had a good balance, now. No need to upset things.

It was a beautiful day, sun shining through the leaves, which were just starting to turn. Lisa ran off to swing on the swingset, while Frank tossed a football to his boy.

“Turn your wrist a little, to get that spiral,” he said, and Frankie nodded, face screwed up in concentration. He tried again, but the ball went flying off in a wild direction.

“I can’t do it,” he said, kicking the ground. He was getting frustrated, but Frank knew better than to let him quit just yet. 

“Here. Let me show you.” He picked up the ball and gripped it. The smell of the leather, the feel of the laces, it brought him back to twelve years before, on a day much like this one. He had met Maria that day. The thought didn’t make him sad, exactly, but he wished he could go back, warn that kid about everything that would happen to him in the future, all the mistakes he’d make.

“See where my fingers are? You try it.” Frankie took the ball and tried to mimic what his dad did. 

“My hands are too small,” he whined.

“Try it anyway. You’ll grow.” Frankie huffed and let his dad arrange his fingers. “Roll your fingers as you let go. That’ll put a spin on it.”

He backed up and nodded. Frankie tossed the ball again, and it spun, just a little.

“I did it!”

“You sure did.” Frank ruffled his son’s hair as he came running up to hug him. He was getting to be that age where any affection was too much, so Frank would take what he could get. “Want to get some ice cream?”

He called to Lisa while Frankie ran ahead. She jumped off the swing in a graceful arc, and they walked together to the local ice cream shop. It had a cheerful, striped awning, and it looked nearly deserted, even though it was a warm day for October. The bell over the door jingled as they walked in, and Frank was surprised to see a familiar face behind the counter.   


“Hey, Ellie.”   


“Hi, Mr. Castle.” She wiped her brow with the back of her arm. “I’ll be right with you guys.”

Frankie and Lisa pressed their faces to the display case with all the ice cream flavors, chattering excitedly about which ones they wanted. He had a feeling they’d end up with vanilla and chocolate, like they usually did, but it was good to see them so happy. He only wished ice cream would work like this forever.

“I recommend the birthday cake with sprinkles,” Ellie said, whispering conspiratorially. 

“I want that one!” Lisa said.

“Me too!”

“On the house,” Ellie said, when Frank took out his wallet to pay.

“You sure?” He didn’t want her to get in trouble. She shrugged, still smiling. “Alright. Thanks, Ellie.” He couldn’t leave without paying anything, so he slipped a few dollars into the tip jar.

“See you Monday, Mr. Castle. Have a good weekend.”

He was going to make sure they did. His time with his kids was precious, and he wasn’t going to waste it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an AU that has been living in my brain for a long time, and I'm publishing this first chapter in the hopes it will inspire me to finish it, so wish me luck! And, if this is an AU you enjoy, please let me know. I have it mapped out, but any support would be greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

“You’ll never guess who I saw at work today.”

“Hmm?” Karen said, hardly looking up from the pasta sauce she was stirring. She hardly felt like cooking, after being around the diner all day, every day, but they needed to eat. She wasn’t about to let her girl go hungry, and they didn’t have the money to order out every night. So, pasta it was.

“Mom!” Ellie said, poking her head into the kitchen with a pout. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes. You saw someone at work today?” She smiled. “Not that boy you were telling me about, what was his name?” She nudged her with an elbow.

Pink spread over her daughter’s cheeks and she rolled her eyes dramatically. “Mom, no. I saw Mr. Castle. He had his kids with him.”

“Oh, that’s nice. But why would that be urgent news for me?”

Ellie’s eyes were bound to fall right out of her head if she kept rolling them like this. “I know you liked him.”

“You know no such thing, my dear. Can you please set the table?”

“I saw they way you looked at him. I’ve never seen you look at anyone like that.”

Karen sighed. Her daughter was too perceptive for her own good. “I met the man once, and from what you just said, he has a family already, so what does it matter?”

“That’s true.” Ellie pulled the drawer open and took out knives and forks, looking thoughtful. “I noticed he doesn’t wear a wedding ring, though.”

“Ell, stop.”

“But mom!”

Karen slammed the spoon down harder than she meant to, splattering sauce all over the stove, and Ellie jumped. “Sorry. But please, can you drop this?”

“You know I just want you to be happy, right Mom?”

Karen’s heart broke at the look on her daughter’s face. She turned off the burner and hugged her tightly. “I know. I am happy, Ellie. I promise.”

“But what about when I leave for college? What will you do then?”

Karen shook her head, fighting back the tears that sprang to her eyes whenever she thought about that inevitable moment. It was going to come, and she wasn’t going to let her daughter lose out on that experience for anything. “Don’t worry about me.”

“One of us has to.” She took the saucepan from her mom and poured it over the pasta. “Come on. Let’s eat.”

Karen thought the matter was dropped. Ellie didn’t bring up her handsome teacher again, and they got back into their routine. Everything was normal. She didn’t need anything else. She had Ellie, she had work, she had their life. That was enough.

Sure, some days she wished for something a little more challenging than the diner, and sure, she wondered what her life might have been like if she had made different choices along the way, but it was far too late for all that now. If she had made different choices, she wouldn’t have Ellie. Ellie was going to have a different life, a better life, and that was the way it should be. She deserved that, much more than Karen ever had

After a particularly long day, working a double shift that had been filled with too many demanding customers, Karen could feel the thick layer of grease on her skin. She needed a shower and some sleep. As she approached the door, she decided, sleep first. The shower could wait.

Ellie was on the couch when she got home, books and notes spread out in front of her. She pulled out one earbud and smiled at her mom. If Karen hadn’t been so tired, she might have noticed the mischief in her daughter’s blue eyes.

“Hey, mom. How was work?” Karen groaned, sinking onto the couch, ignoring the crunch of paper underneath her as she sat down. “So, I need to ask you something.”

“Shoot.” Karen’s eyes fell closed as she fought to stay awake.

“It’s conferences next week.”

“Okay.”

“Would you go meet with some of my teachers?”

“Mmhmm, sure thing.”

Karen woke, hours later, with a blanket tucked around her and the lights turned low. She curled up tighter and went back to sleep.

She forgot all about the conversation until the following week, when Ellie handed her a paper, over breakfast.

“What’s this?”

“Remember? You said you’d meet with my teachers. It’s tonight. Did you forget?”

“No, of course not.” She absolutely had, but the foggy memory started to come back the harder she thought about it. It had been a very long week. “Who am I meeting with?”

Ellie’s smirk was a dead giveaway.

“You didn’t.”

“What? I didn’t do that well on my last project. I thought you might want to talk to him about it.” She almost sounded innocent, all big eyes and sweet smile, but Karen knew her daughter better than that.

“Ellie,” Karen sighed. It was her first night off in two weeks, and she had been looking forward to putting on pajamas, pouring a glass of wine, and watching something stupid on Netflix. She knew she had to show up, though. Ellie knew it too. She had fought too long and too hard to avoid the stereotype of the overworked, uninterested single mom to miss a conference her daughter set up.

So, she put on a nice dress, blow-dried her hair, slipped on some sparkly earrings. She wanted to look nice, make a good impression. She knew plenty of parents already talked about her behind her back. It was too small a school for them not to. She ignored Ellie’s approving wolf-whistle as she left the house. That was not the point of this evening. She would get in, talk to Ellie’s teacher, and get out, with plenty of time to have a glass of wine before bed.

“Miss Page, right on time.” Mr. Castle was at his desk when she came into the classroom. He looked just as she remembered, sleeves rolled up over his muscled forearms, a shadow of stubble softening his sharp jawline.

This was going to be a long conference. Damn it, Ellie.

* * *

Frank hadn’t seen her since the debate, but when Ellie signed her mom up for a conference, he knew she’d be there. She was his last conference of the night, so he had plenty of other concerned parents to distract him before she arrived. It didn’t matter anyway. She was a mom, and he was her child’s teacher. He was going to be professional, and tell her the truth about her daughter, who happened to be one of his favorite students.

But then she walked in, hair shining under the fluorescent lights, in a dress that hugged her hips, and he was momentarily stunned. 

He cleared his throat. “Miss Page, right on time.” He thought about standing, pulling out her chair, but that seems like way too much. If he wouldn’t do it for another parent, he wasn’t about to do it for this one, as attractive as she was. This wasn’t a date. It was a parent-teacher conference, nothing more.

“Mr. Castle. And please, call me Karen.” She sat and folded her hands in her lap. “How’s Ellie doing? She mentioned she didn’t do very well on her last project.”

Frank’s eyebrows rose. “She got a B+, but it shouldn’t impact her grade too badly. And you can call me Frank.”

“Oh. Why did she get a B+?” Karen’s brow furrowed, and he could see how much she cared about her daughter’s education. He admired that. He was still trying to figure out this solo parenting thing, and he only had his kids part of the time. He couldn’t even imagine trying to do it all on his own.

“She just forgot one minor element of the poster, but she’ll make up the points on the next one, I’m sure. She’s been working hard, and she’ll be just fine.”

“I see. What is the next project about?”

“World War II.”

“And she has a copy of the directions?” Frank nodded. “Good. I’ll make sure she doesn’t miss anything on this one.”

“I’m sure you will.” He paused, watching her face. “Listen, Ellie is a great kid. She’s got so much potential, and I know she’s got all kinds of dreams for what she’d like to be. I’m really glad she joined debate, too. She’s better at it than she thought she’d be.”

“Were you the one who encouraged her to try it?” He nodded again. “Thank you. She’s always been so shy, but she’s so smart, and I think it’s great that she’s trying something new. Thank you for encouraging her.”

“I’m just capitalizing on the great parenting you’ve done up to this point. I have the easy job.”

Karen scoffed. “I don’t know about that.”

“Trust me,” Frank said, leaning towards her, forearms resting on his desk. “I’ve been at this a few years, and I know good parenting when I see it.”

“Thank you.” She was blushing now, and Frank couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Ellie told me you have kids, too. How old are they?”

“Ten and eight. Growing up too fast, if you ask me.”

“They always do.” She smiled fondly, but Frank could see a flash of something like regret in her eyes. “How long have you been teaching?”

“This is my fourth year.”   
“What did you do before?”

“I was a Marine. Fought in Afghanistan, before I gave it up to be home with my kids.”

“That must have been hard, to be so far away.” She was watching him carefully, like she was searching for the answer to a question she hadn’t asked him yet.

“Yeah, didn’t really lend itself to good family dynamics.” Understatement of the century, but he didn’t need to get into all the issues that led to his divorce now. That wasn’t what they were here for. He needed to get this conversation back on track. “But now, I have all kinds of experiences to share with these kids to help them understand history, so it worked out.”

Karen nodded. “I’m sure. Ellie loves your class. She’s never been big on history, either, so you must be doing something right.”

It was Frank’s turn to blush. “Thank you, ma’am. It helps to have great students.”

“Well, I won’t take up any more of your time,” Karen said, standing to leave. “Thank you, Frank.”

He nearly asked her to get coffee or a drink sometime, as he watched her leave, but he knew it was a bad idea. He couldn’t get involved with her, as much as he might want to.

“Rough night?” Curtis said from the doorway. “You heading out?”

Frank nodded and gathered the papers he needed to grade, before locking the door behind him.

“I had this one dad who spent the whole time yelling at his kid about how she was never going to be a doctor at this rate, and how she needed to work harder if she wants to keep living under his roof.” Curtis shuddered. “I hate when they do that.”

“Yeah,” Frank agreed. “Me too.”

“So, how were yours? Need a drink to wash it off?”

Frank smiled. “Nah, I’m good. Mine weren’t bad at all.”

“Really? No bad ones? Lucky you.”

Yeah. Lucky him. No screaming parents, but one mom that made him wonder if maybe, just maybe, he was ready to move on from his failed marriage and find something new. It couldn’t be with her, but he could figure that out later. This was progress.

Frank just wasn’t going to share it with anyone yet. This was something he had to figure out on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this so far, and I hope you liked this chapter. I really appreciate all the love, and I'll be back with the next chapter soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Karen paused in the hallway after leaving the classroom, leaning back against the door to catch her breath. Nothing had happened. Nothing could happen. So, why did she feel so shaken?

By the time she got home, she had almost talked herself into believing that the whole conference had been totally normal, that there was no spark of attraction there at all, no chemistry, nothing but normal interactions between teacher and parent. That didn’t explain that fluttering feeling in her chest, but it didn’t matter. 

“How’d it go?” Ellie sounded far too pleased with herself for Karen’s liking, but she was too exhausted to get into it either way.

“It was fine. Do you have the instructions for your new project?” She dropped her purse on the table by the door and leaned against the back of the couch.

Ellie’s smile faded a little. “What?”

“Mr. Castle told me that you forgot to include something on your last project, so I want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Ellie rolled her eyes. “It won’t. I still have a 96 in his class.”

“You sent me to that conference saying you were worried about your last project grade. I just followed up.” She folded her arms across her chest. It wasn’t hard to figure out what Ellie was trying to do, but there was no use. She was in no place to date anyone right now, much less one of her daughter’s teachers.

“And? How was the rest of it?”

“The rest of what? We talked about your grades, and how you’re doing in class, and I left. There was no ‘rest of it.’” Karen sank down into the cushions and felt the weight of the whole week wash over her. She could also feel Ellie’s eyes on her, trying to figure out if her mom was hiding something. “Don’t you have homework to finish?”

“Yes, mom,” Ellie said, drawing out the vowel in the verbal equivalent of another eye roll.

“You hungry?” Karen stood up again, knowing full well that all there was in the fridge was old pizza and some eggs she wasn’t entirely sure hadn’t expired. She would figure something out.

“No, I had a sandwich earlier.” She had turned back to her schoolwork, and Karen felt a tug of emotion watching her. Her daughter worked so hard, and hadn’t gotten distracted by all the teenage bullshit that had derailed her, and that was such a miracle. But she couldn’t help but feel guilty that her beautiful girl, this incredible person, had to eat sandwiches for dinner because her mom was too busy to make something, and they didn’t have enough money to eat out all the time. It would be one thing if it was just tonight, but they relied on sandwiches and eggs and boxed mac and cheese more often than Karen wanted to admit. “You okay, mom?”

“Yeah, honey,” she said, smoothing Ellie’s hair as she passed her. She poured herself a glass of wine and leaned against the sink. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

She was, really. She had a decent life, all things considered. But did she wonder what it would be like, sometimes, to have someone else there to support her, to make dinner on nights when she was working, to be there for Ellie more of the time? Of course, she did.

It was no use wishing for it, though. She had sworn off men after Todd, and she still wasn’t ready, after seventeen years with only Ellie by her side. She couldn’t trust a man to be there, to stay, to protect what they had. She had come close, a few times, but she couldn’t risk everything they had built. She wouldn’t. She had fought too hard for it.

So, Karen pushed whatever feelings of attraction had been sparked by her meeting with Frank to the back of her mind and got on with her life. She worked, she ate, she slept. Her routine was comforting, on some level. She knew what to expect and there were no surprises. She preferred it that way.

Until she went grocery shopping, a few weeks after her conference, tired and distracted after a long Saturday morning shift at the diner. She needed a few things, and then she could go home and take a nap before heading back in for the dinner shift. She was rounding the corner of an aisle when her cart slammed into someone else’s.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, blushing from the roots of her hair down to her toes when she realized who was pushing the other cart.

It was Frank, whose cart was filled with sugary cereals and cookies, all bright colors and cartoon animals. He looked mildly embarrassed when she looked at what he had picked up, but he then he smiled. “I have my kids this weekend. Had to stock up.” He cleared his throat. “And the collision was totally my fault. I wasn’t looking where I was going. Too busy trying to figure out where they keep the Pop Tarts.”

“No problem.” Karen looked down. That spark she had pushed away came back when she saw him, and making eye contact only made it worse. 

“How are you?” She glanced at him, and he was leaning towards her, like he was genuinely interested to know. She looked at what she was wearing and realized she was still in her grease-stained uniform from work. Her hair was probably a mess, and she wasn’t even wearing makeup. Perfect.

“I’m fine. How are you?” Lying through her teeth about her reality was something that had become second nature to Karen since she left home. It was easier that way. No one really wanted to hear it, and she needed to take care of herself. She always had.

“I’ll be better once my kids are here. I’m always a wreck before they come, trying to get everything ready for them.” He laughed a little. “Probably sounds crazy to you, huh? I don’t know how you do it on your own. I couldn’t handle it.”

“Sure, you could. You do what you have to. That’s what I do, anyway.” The words slipped out before she could stop them.

“Well, you’re doing a great job. Ellie’s project looked perfect this time.” Frank nodded at her, even though she had had little to nothing to do with the project. Ellie had refused to let her help, insisting that she could handle it on her own, no matter what she had said to get her mom to the school for her conference with Frank.

“Great. I’m glad to hear that.”

“I won’t keep you, but it was nice to see you. Tell Ellie hello from me.”

“I will. Have fun with your kids. I think the Pop Tarts are the next aisle over.” He smiled and headed that way.

Karen rushed through the rest of her shopping, and realized that she had forgotten three or four things in her hurry, but she had to get out of there. Frank was too kind, too pleasant, too easy to talk to. It was dangerous, and she couldn’t go there. Not while Ellie was his student. Not ever, if her history with men gave her anything to go by. He might seem great now, and she was sure he was, but she had a way of raining destruction on everyone and everything around her. It was a miracle Ellie had turned out as well as she did. Karen was still waiting for the other shoe to drop on that one. 

It was too much of a risk, and she wasn’t going to take it. Not for anything.

* * *

“Dad!” There was someone tugging on his hand. Blinking sleepily, he focused on his daughter’s face.

“What? What’s going on?”

“Frankie wanted to make breakfast and I told him no, but he’s already down in the kitchen. I couldn’t stop him.”

“What?”

“Please, just come, Dad.” Lisa tugged harder and Frank sat up, head still fuzzy with sleep. He had been having such a nice dream, too. Something involving blonde hair and blue eyes and sharing a drink next to a warm fire.

“I’m coming,” he grumbled, sliding his feet into the slippers beside his bed. Shuffling down the stairs, he smelled something burning. Smoke had filled the kitchen and he groaned. This was not how he planned to spend his Sunday morning.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Frankie said, voice small against the chaos in the room. Lisa had put the frying pan in the sink, but it was still smoking a little, burned eggs stuck to the surface.

“Don’t  _ ever  _ do that again,” Frank growled, pulling his son towards him by the front of his shirt. “Are you trying to burn the house down?”

“No, I swear. I’m sorry.” He was trying to keep a brave face, but Frank could see the tears in his eyes. “I just wanted to do something nice for you. I’m sorry.”   


Frank let go of him, sick with guilt. He ran a hand over his face and tried to pull himself together. “I shouldn’t have overreacted. I’m sorry, buddy.” He reached out to ruffle his son’s hair, but Frankie cowered away from him. “Why don’t we go out for breakfast?”

The whole ride over to the diner, Frank felt the bitter aftertaste of his behavior in his throat. It always happened like this; he acted on instinct, then he regretted it. It had always driven Maria crazy. No wonder she wanted primary custody; he couldn’t even handle every other weekend without snapping at his kids.

As he pulled into the parking lot, gravel crunching under his tires, Frank shook his head. It did no good to dwell on the past. He had made a royal mess of his marriage, but there was no reason for him not to try to be the best dad he could be for his kids, for the time he had them.

He spotted Karen as soon as they entered the space. She was serving someone from behind the counter, but her eyes flicked over to meet his with a smile when she saw him.

“Sit anywhere you like,” another waitress called, waving at them.

Frank let his kids pick their booth, sliding in beside Frankie and picking up the slightly sticky menu to examine his options.

“Good morning. What can I get you all to drink?” Karen said brightly, pad and pencil in her hands.

“Morning,” Frank mumbled. He wondered if she could see how much he was struggling. He wanted to ask her how she did it, but she would just brush him off, like always. She really didn’t seem to see how amazing it was that she did the whole parenting thing on her own, and that she did it so well. “Coffee, please.”   


“Cream? Sugar?”

“No. Black.”

“Chocolate milk,” Frankie said. Frank nudged him. “Please.”

“Orange juice, please.”

“Coming right up. I’ll give you a minute with the menus.”

Frank studied Karen while she got their drinks together. She was smiling brightly, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She looked tired, eyes heavy with something he couldn’t identify, but no less beautiful than the last time he had seen her. He forced the thought to the back of his mind. He wasn’t here to flirt with the waitress, he was here to spend time with his kids.

“Can I get pancakes, Dad?” Frankie asked, voice small.   


“Sure, buddy. Maybe we can go throw the ball around at the park later too.” 

Frankie’s face brightened. “Really?”

“Yeah. It’s not too cold yet, huh?”

Frankie nodded. “Cool.”

“You ready to order?” 

Frank nodded at Lisa to start. They ordered their food, and Karen hurried away to refill coffees and help other people. Frank knew he had to make the best of the time he had left with his kids before their mom came to pick them up. He was missing so much, not being there all the time, but it was better this way. Their family was better this way, he knew that, but it was still hard, just like it had been when he was deployed and thousands of miles away. They were closer geographically now, but it still wasn’t enough.

“So, what are you learning at school these days?” he asked Lisa.

She grinned. “I just got an A on my science project.”   


“Oh, yeah? What was it about?”

She was just in the middle of telling him about her experiment to see if plants could grow upside down when Karen came back with their food. 

“Thanks, Karen,” he said, and she blushed a little. 

“Do you know my dad?” Lisa asked, eyeing Karen suspiciously.

“My daughter is one of his students,” Karen said, ears still tinged a little bit pink. “You must be his daughter. Lucky girl.”

Lisa beamed. “Yes, I am.”   
“And you’re his son?” she asked Frankie. He nodded, suddenly shy. “You look just like your dad, Maybe you’ll grow up to be a teacher, too.”

“I’m going to be a football player.” Frankie said it with such determination that Karen laughed lightly.

“I believe you.” She bit her lip. “It was nice to meet both of you. Enjoy your breakfast.”

Frank watched her leave their table, hips swaying a little in the dark jeans she wore as part of her uniform. When he managed to tear his eyes away, Lisa was watching him carefully.   


“Are you okay, Dad?” she asked, and he could see the pieces falling together in her mind. “You know, it would be okay with me if you wanted to date.” She kicked her brother.

“Me too,” he said, through a mouthful of pancakes. Clearly, they had already discussed this.

“Oh yeah?” He smiled. “Good to know. Thank you.”

“That lady is really pretty,” Lisa said, looking over at Karen. “And I can tell you like her.”

“Is that so?”   


Lisa shrugged, pushing a bit of egg around her plate. “It’s pretty obvious.” She said it with such authority that Frank was forced to remember that his little girl was growing up. It wouldn’t be long now before she’d be thinking about boys and dating and all that. 

"Yeah. It's so obvious," Frankie echoed, though with much less pre-teen sass than his sister, who was all but rolling her eyes at the two of them.

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind,” Frank said, turning back to his bacon. He did not need to deal with all this at breakfast. It could wait. He wasn’t in any rush. “But let’s finish up here and head to the park, yeah?”

Lisa and Frankie exchanged a glance and nodded. Frank wasn’t entirely sure what was going on here, but he wasn’t going to waste the rest of his time with his kids on something that was never going to happen anyway.

It wasn’t until later, after Maria had come and picked them up, that he wondered how they had arrived at this decision. Was Maria seeing someone? The thought hurt, stabbed at that piece of his heart that would always be hers, but it wasn’t as painful as he thought it would be, when he had thought about this moment before. He had made the decision to move forward, hadn’t he? Maybe she had, too.

Now he just had to figure out what that actually meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm trying not to rush things, since both of them are a little gunshy about acknowledging their feelings, but things are going to heat up soon. I'm going to try to keep posting around once a week, but we'll see how the holidays turn out. The next thing you'll see from me is my Kastle Secret Santa gift, but then I'll be back with another chapter of this! If you enjoyed this chapter, kudos and comments are always appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn’t often that Karen went out after work. She was usually too tired, honestly, but this was a special occasion. It was Donna’s birthday, and her coworkers were not going to let her get out of this one. 

“Pick you up later, right?” Donna said, as Karen gathered her things at the end of her shift. 

She nodded, and headed home, earlier than usual, but still after a long day. Ellie was perched on the couch, books strewn around her as she worked on something.

“Hi, honey,” Karen said, sinking into the armchair across from her to slip off her work shoes. “What are you working on?”

“English paper,” Ellie said, and the strain in her tone made it clear Karen shouldn’t ask too many questions.

“Need any help?”

She shook her head and looked up from her books for a moment to study her mom. “No. And you’re not using me as an excuse to skip out on girls’ night.” Karen almost wished she hadn’t told Ellie about her coworkers’ plans, but it was too late for that now.

“Understood.” Karen held up her hands in surrender and forced herself out of her chair to go get ready.

She was still standing in front of her closet, half an hour later, when Ellie came up to look for her.

“I have nothing to wear.” Usually, it didn’t bother her. She had always been focused on getting whatever Ellie needed, and that was as it should be, but it was more than a little jarring to realize that she didn’t even own anything remotely fashionable or even flattering. She had her uniforms for work, the dress she had worn to conferences, some beat-up old jeans and sweats, and t-shirts she wore when she wasn’t at work. She hadn’t needed anything else for a long time.

“Come on,” Ellie said, tugging at her mom’s hand. The sensation jolted Karen out of her paralysis, taking her daughter’s lead, just like she had once taken her mom’s. It was almost a melancholy thought to realize that her daughter hardly needed her anymore, but it was nice to have someone to lean on when she needed it. She couldn’t do it all the time, because that wasn’t good for either of them, but she knew she could trust Ellie to help her in this situation.

Before Karen had finished processing what was happening, Ellie had thrown open her closet and was rifling through it, pulling out skirts and dresses and heels in a dozen colors and styles Karen had never even considered wearing.

“Put this on,” Ellie said, shoving hangers into her mom’s hands and turning her back around to go back to her room. “And I’ll start the curling iron and get out some makeup for you.”

Ellie certainly had an eye for fashion that she had not inherited from her mom, or to Karen’s best knowledge, her dad. This was something all her own. She had chosen a black dress for her mom, simple, but flirty and feminine in a way that Karen had almost forgotten how to be, and a pair of heels that she wasn’t entirely sure she would be able to walk in.

Karen didn’t even bother looking in the mirror yet. She already knew she looked better than she had five minutes earlier, and she only had a few more minutes to get ready, if her clock on her dresser was right, and it always was. She rushed, barefoot, into the bathroom and ran the curling iron through her hair a few times to get the diner out of it. A swipe of mascara and ruby red lipstick, and she was as ready as she’d ever be.

Donna was honking from the driveway as Karen struggled to slip on the heels Ellie had picked for her, nearly twisting her ankle on her way out the door.

“Bye, honey,” she called, throwing her keys into her purse and closing the door tightly behind her.

“Have fun!”

The whole thing was backwards, really. It should have been Ellie going out, having a good time on a Friday night, but instead, here she was. Karen knew the dangers of getting too crazy on a night out better than anyone, so she’d stay for a drink or two, and then she’d head home. It was where she belonged, really.

The bar was crowded when she got there, noisy with people blowing off steam after a long work week. She ordered the first round, to the delight of her coworkers.

“You should really hang out with us more often, Karen.”

She nodded vaguely. “Yeah, this is nice.”

And if she was honest with herself, it was. Karen hadn’t spent time with other adults outside the confines of the diner in quite a while. She had told herself it was because she was focused on being a good mom, keeping their lives together, but that wasn’t it. She was afraid to have fun. She didn’t trust herself not to lose control like she used to when she was a teenager. When everything changed in an instant and she couldn’t take her destructive decisions back. She hadn’t been ready for the cost then, and she couldn’t risk paying it again now.

Bringing herself back to the present, she tried to listen to what her coworkers were telling her about their lives. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested, she just wasn’t used to being out so late, and she felt her eyes starting to close, the longer she sat there.

“Hey, Karen,” Donna whispered conspiratorially. “That guy has been looking over at you all night. What’s the deal?”

Karen turned, and saw Frank, sitting with some other men at the bar. Sure enough, as soon as her eyes found him, he glanced over and smiled, lifting his glass to her.

“Do you know him?” Suddenly, everyone’s eyes were on Karen. She felt a flush rising in her cheeks and shook her head, shrugging a little.

“He’s my daughter’s teacher.”

“He’s hot.” Angela, their newest addition to the staff, rested her chin in her hand and stared over at Frank, wistful look in her eyes. “Wish he’d teach me a few things.”   
“Is he single?”

“Divorced,” Karen said, before she could stop herself.

“So, why are you still over here? Go talk to him!”

She shook her head again. “No. He’s Ellie’s teacher. I can’t do that.”

“Oh, come on, Karen. Please? It’s my birthday, and I think you should,” Donna said, standing to order another round. “Listen, we’ll all do a shot, and then you have to do it.”

Karen continued to protest, but before she could say anything else, everyone went quiet, smirks firmly planted on their faces. She turned, and there he was, smiling almost shyly at her.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

* * *

As soon as he spotted her, across the crowded room, Frank couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Karen was always pretty, but tonight, in that dress, she was drop-dead gorgeous, and he couldn’t deny the attraction he felt.

He especially couldn’t deny it when Curtis and Lieberman caught on to who he was looking at.

“Is that the hot mom?” Lieberman said, waggling his eyebrows like some kind of crazed cartoon character. 

“Jesus. No.” Frank coughed, nearly choking on his beer. “I mean, that is Ellie’s mom, but Christ’s sake, man.”

“Why don’t you go buy her a drink?” Curt suggested, nudging Frank’s nearly empty glass. “Just as friends, if that makes you feel better.” When Frank scowled at him, he held up his hands. “If you’d rather just sit here and stare at her some more, I guess that’s fine too.”

Frank drained his glass. “Will it get the two of you to shut up?” They shrugged. “Good enough.”

Heart pounding into his throat, Frank took that first step towards her, and it felt like something broke. Some boundary, some barrier that had been holding him back. Tonight, they weren’t a parent and a teacher. They were just two people, in a bar, who could share a drink. It was no big deal. It didn’t have to be a big deal.

As soon as he asked her, though, Karen froze, and he went back behind the wall that had been between them. It was too soon, it was too much, it wasn’t what she wanted. That much was clear.

“Just as friends,” he said, stumbling over the words in his haste to set things right. “I just saw you over here and thought…”

“Sure.” Karen cut him off, and it was Frank’s turn to freeze. “That would be nice.”

He tried his best to ignore the giggles that followed them as they moved away from her friends. He didn’t even want to know. 

They ordered their drinks and found their way to a table in the back corner of the bar, away from most of the noise and chaos of the night, and hopefully away from the prying eyes of his so-called friends.

“What brings you out tonight?” Frank said, as Karen took a long drink from her gin and tonic. 

“Coworker’s birthday. You?”

“I don’t have my kids this weekend, so a couple of my buddies wanted to come out. I’m sorry if I’m taking you away from your friends.” He was. He didn’t get the feeling Karen did this often, and for all he knew, he was ruining her fun.

“Trust me, they were about to send me over to ask you for a drink if you hadn’t gotten there first.”

“Oh yeah?”

Karen laughed lightly, ruby lips dark against her pale skin. Her eyes glittered in the twinkling lights strung over the bar and she nodded. “They had you scoped out pretty much the second we sat down. I’m sure they’re still watching us like hawks from over there, too.”

Glancing over, Frank saw that she was right. As soon as they saw him looking, the women turned to each other to pretend like they hadn’t been spying, and Karen laughed again.

“Thank you for the drink,” she said quietly. “What prompted you to ask me?”

“Just thought you looked like you could use one. And, my buddies were giving me a hard time about it too.”

“You think everyone is onto something?” She tilted her head, studying him with those clear, blue eyes, and he wondered what she saw. He knew what he saw in the mirror: a divorced, ex-Marine who was doing his best to put his life back together and mostly feeling like he was failing. He had to hope she saw something different. From the soft light in her eyes, he had a feeling she did.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, your friends, my friends, even Ellie has been on me about this.”

Frank thought of his own kids, telling him they’d be okay with it if he dated Karen. “Yeah?” She nodded. “What do you think?” 

“I asked you first.”

“Fair enough.” Swallowing, Frank tried to figure out what she wanted him to say, but that was impossible. He had never been good at that kind of thing. Prompted a lot of fights with Maria, when he said the wrong thing and made things worse when he was trying to make them better. 

“Frank?”

“I, uh, I think they might have a point.”

Karen’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?” Frank’s heart sank. Was he wrong about this? 

But then, she smiled. “I think they might, too.”

And suddenly, whatever walls he had thought were still standing between them, crumbled to nothing, as though they had never existed in the first place. Karen laid a hand on his forearm and squeezed it a little, sending shivers of electricity over his body.

“I don’t know how to do this, really,” she was saying, but Frank heard her as though from the end of a long tunnel. It had been a long time since a woman had touched him this way, and his nerves felt overexposed, sensitive to it in a way he hadn’t expected. “You are still my daughter’s teacher.”

That simple statement brought Frank back to earth with a jolt. “I am. And if that’s something that’s a dealbreaker for you, I totally understand.”

Karen’s smile widened. “I think Ellie might actually kill me if I call that a dealbreaker.”

Frank couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Is that right?”

“You have no idea.” Karen drained her glass and tried to cover a yawn with her hand, but didn’t quite succeed. “Sorry. Long week.”

“Tell me about it. Listen, if you need to go, that’s fine.”

Karen glanced over at the table where her friends sat, and winced. “Unfortunately, I think I may need to wait until the birthday girl sobers up a little. She’s my ride.”

“I can give you a lift home if you want.” Frank held up his hands. “I promise, my intentions are completely honorable.”

“I believe you. And that would be great, if it’s not putting you out.”

Frank couldn’t think of anything else he’d rather do than help this beautiful woman who might actually be interested in him, against all the odds. He followed her out of the bar, ignoring the stares from both her friends and his. He was going to get so much shit about this from Lieberman, he knew that, but he found he didn’t care so much now. They had laid their cards on the table, and he was mostly relieved to know it wasn’t just him who was feeling this way. This might actually be something they could do.

It didn’t take long to get to Karen’s house, just a few blocks from the bar, but he was glad she let him drive her. He would have hated to think of her walking home on her own at night. He was sure Karen could take care of herself, but it was nice to be able to help.

Frank pulled to a stop in front of the house she directed him to, and he could feel the anticipation in the air. Karen was twisting her hands in her lap, and Frank reached over to still them. Her hands were cold, and she shivered at the warmth of his skin against hers.

“Listen, even if we both agree there might be something here, we can take it slow. I’m in no rush, Karen.”

She let out a tiny sigh of relief, and Frank saw the tension ease out of her shoulders. “Thank you. It’s been a while since I did something like this.”

“Me too.”

He squeezed her hands and let go, and Karen opened the door to the car, but then she froze.   
“Karen? You okay?” He followed her gaze, and saw that there was a man there, sitting on the front step. Karen still hadn’t moved, and Frank got a feeling, deep in the pit of his stomach, that something was very wrong here. “Karen?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I couldn't let them get together this quickly, right? Sorry to leave it in a cliffhanger, but I'm going to try to get the next chapter up very soon!
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are so incredibly appreciated. It makes me so happy to know that you guys are enjoying the experience of reading this fic as much as I'm enjoying the experience of writing it. <3


	5. Chapter 5

Eighteen years. It had been eighteen years since Karen had felt this particular feeling: lost, helpless, paralyzed. All the butterflies, all the warmth that had blossomed in her chest with Frank had disappeared, leaving that hollowness, that empty space, that had haunted her since she left Vermont.

She knew she needed to move. She needed to do something. She could feel Frank staring at her, probably wondering if she had lost her mind. 

All she could see was the man on her porch. She knew who it was before she even saw his face. She had been sure she’d never see him again, but here he was, just when she was starting to think she could possibly find something that resembled happiness.

“Karen?” She heard Frank speaking slowly, as though he were speaking to a child. “Karen? You want me to walk you in? I don’t mind.”

She was sure he didn’t, but Karen couldn’t let him do that. Not now, not with this particular man waiting for her.

“No, thank you, Frank. I’ll be okay.”

“You’re sure?” She turned towards him and saw the concern in his dark eyes. “I’m not going to leave you like this.”

“I can take care of myself,” she said, as gently as she could manage. “Thank you for the ride, Frank. I’ll see you around.”

She smiled, as bravely as she could, though she had a feeling it looked more like a grimace, and closed the door with a thud behind her. She couldn’t look back. She could only move forward. Her hands were shaking, and she clutched her keys like a knife, ready to strike at the first provocation.

“Hey there, Karen. Sorry to ruin your date.” He was still shrouded in shadow, but she’d recognize his voice anywhere. How had she ever gotten mixed up with him? How had she ever thought he was worth everything she sacrificed to be with him?

“Todd. What are you doing here?” She tried her best to keep her voice steady. She could handle this. 

“Been a long time. Just wanted to meet the daughter you didn’t tell me about. I can’t believe you named her Penelope. Seems a little on-the-nose, doesn’t it?”

Karen’s heart dropped in her chest. “What?” She saw the light on in the living room, and prayed that Ellie didn’t come outside to see what was going on. Frank was also still parked outside the house, and Karen knew she had to get rid of Todd quickly, or this was all going to escalate out of her control. Just like always, he had a way of throwing things out of orbit and unsettling everything that made her life run smoothly.

“A little birdy told me I have a daughter. Funny, you never mentioned it.”

“I didn’t know until I had already moved away. Didn’t think you’d want to hear from me after what happened.”

Todd smirked. “You mean, you shooting me?”

Karen took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. A scream, of pain, of grief, of regret, was threatening to tear its way through her, and she was holding onto her composure with every ounce of strength she had left. “Can we do this another time? It’s late, and I’d like to go to bed.”

“Sure thing. Just give me the okay to meet my daughter. ”

“That’s really up to her. She’s old enough to make that decision on her own.”

“And I’m sure you never told her anything bad about me, right?” He sneered. “You know, I have a pretty good gig these days. Maybe I’ll sue for custody, get that time back that you stole from me.”

Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, but Karen took a shaky breath and tried to get herself together. “I will talk to Ellie and see if she’ll agree to meet with you, but I can’t make any promises, and threatening to take her away from me isn’t going to help anything.”

He shrugged. “Fine. Here’s my number. Call me tomorrow, or I file the paperwork. Not like you don’t have a few skeletons in your closet a judge might be interested in hearing about.”

He shoved a business card into her hand, the corner stabbing into the flesh of Karen’s palm. He pulled up his hood and shuffled away, and Karen stayed there for a long moment, staring down at the card in her hand.

_ Todd Neiman, Vice President, Sales _

She didn’t recognize the company, but they were based in New York, and a shiver ran down her spine at the thought of the kind of money he’d be able to bring to a custody battle. And he was right; she had more than a few things in her past that wouldn’t exactly reflect well on her fitness as a mother. She had worked hard to come back from it, but those ghosts were still there, lingering in the background of everything she had built for herself.

Headlights reflecting in the car parked across the street jolted her back to reality, and she saw Frank drive away. He had waited until he was sure Todd was gone, and that helped, a little. She wasn’t completely alone.

She unlocked the door and headed inside, to find Ellie, asleep on the couch, still surrounded by all her books. The thought of having her taken away, however distant that possibility was, was too much for Karen to bear, and she sank back against the wall, hand covering her mouth as she tried to hold back the sobs.

Ellie’s eyes shot open, and she instantly sat up, watching her mom with a furrowed brow. “You okay, mom?” Karen tried to nod, but Ellie wasn’t buying it. “What happened?” She stood, and shepherded her mom over to the couch, arm around her shoulders.

When she had calmed down enough to speak, she managed to form two words. “Your dad.”

“What about him?” Karen had told her daughter enough for her to understand why her dad wasn’t in her life, but they had mostly avoided the topic. Karen wished they hadn’t, now. There was so much she hadn’t wanted Ellie to know, but now she had no choice.

“He’s here. He wants to meet you.”

Ellie stiffened. “Now? After all this time? No. I won’t do it.”

“Honey, at least think about it.”

“No. He never cared to meet me before, so why now?”

Karen swallowed. “He didn’t know about you.”

Ellie’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“I didn’t find out I was pregnant until after I had left town, and I didn’t tell him. I didn’t think he’d want to know, and I wasn’t going back.”

She watched her daughter process those words with a decisive nod. “I still don’t want to meet him. You didn’t want him to be part of our lives for a reason.”

“That’s true.” It was. Karen couldn’t deny that she had left that part of her life behind for a very good reason, and that reason was sitting in front of her. She couldn’t bear to tell her that the reason she had been sure he wouldn’t want to know about her was that her mother had shot him the last time they had seen each other. She couldn’t take the idea that Ellie might look at her differently. She knew about her mom’s prior drug use and knew she had dropped out of college, but this was different. She would have to tell her, but not tonight, not when she could still feel her nerves tingling with the phantom pain of her past.

“What else aren’t you telling me?” 

Ellie had always been too smart for her own good, and she needed to know at least the reality of the situation in front of them. That would do for now.

“He said he might sue for custody if I don’t let you meet him.” Ellie tried to protest, but Karen held up a hand. “Please, just tell me you’ll think about it.”

“Can he do that?” For a moment, her daughter sounded like a little kid again. She had hardly even sounded like a little kid when she actually was one, and Karen’s heart broke a little more to hear the uncertainty in her voice. “Can he take me away from you?”

“I don’t know, honey, but I’m going to do whatever I can to stop it from happening.” She wrapped her arms around Ellie and squeezed her tightly. “For tonight, let’s get some sleep, and then we’ll figure out what to do next in the morning. No one’s taking you away from me tonight.”

“Can I sleep in your room tonight?”

Karen squeezed her tighter. “Sure.” She kissed the side of Ellie’s head and they went upstairs. 

As she lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, no other sound but her daughter’s slow breathing, Karen hoped against hope that this wasn’t the beginning of the end of something she treasured so much. She knew she wouldn’t sleep, but she could still dream.

* * *

Frank couldn’t shake the image of Karen, huddled against the cold, talking to the mysterious figure that had appeared on her porch. He wanted to get out, protect her, walk her inside and get the guy to leave, but it wasn’t his place. She had told him she could take care of herself, and he was sure she could. She wouldn’t have been able to raise such a good kid on her own if she couldn’t.

It didn’t matter, though. He kept thinking about it, all weekend, and he didn’t even have his kids around to distract him. He hoped she was alright, that Ellie was alright, that everything was going to work out for them.

By Monday morning, he had cleaned his house from top to bottom, cooked enough food to feed ten people, and driven around town more times than he could count. He hardly even heard the crowing comments from Lieberman about his leaving with the “hot mom” on Friday night.

Curt stopped in during lunch to check on him. “You okay, man? Lieberman said you didn’t even try to hit him after what he said this morning.”

Frank chuckled lightly. “Yeah, guess I’m a little distracted.”

“And not in a good way, it looks like.” He sat on the edge of Frank’s desk. “What’s up?”

“I’m not sure. I need to talk to Karen, but I don’t want to impose myself on her.” He knew he could trust Curtis, but he didn’t even have all the facts. He wasn’t about to share something when he didn’t even know what had happened, really.

“It didn’t look like you were imposing the other night. You just feeling weird about it? Because of Maria?”

Frank sighed. If he was honest with himself, that was still part of it, but it went deeper than that. He had finally felt like he was getting somewhere, with Karen, and with his moving forward from his divorce, and this interruption, this stranger, was a roadblock he had not expected. He wanted to help, but he wasn’t sure how. 

“I don’t know, man. Maybe I’m not ready.”

Curt shook his head, just as the bell rang. “Well, you ever need to talk, you know where to find me.”

Frank nodded, and managed to get through the rest of his day relatively painlessly. It might not have been his most exemplary day of teaching, but that was what group projects were made for, right? 

He was just packing up to leave for the day when his door flew open, and Ellie ran inside, eyes wide.

“Ellie? What’s wrong?”

She sank into a chair by the door and Frank could see that she was shaking. She pulled out her phone, tears in her eyes.

“Mom? He was here. He tried to get me to leave with him.” She wiped at her eyes. “I’m in Mr. Castle’s classroom.” She sniffed. “It was the first place I thought to go.”

Frank had no idea what was going on, but he had a sinking feeling it had to do with whoever that man was on their porch Friday night. He was just glad Ellie felt safe enough to come to him when she was this scared, even though he hated to see her this way.

“Okay. I will. I love you.” She hung up and ran a hand through her hair. Looking over at Frank, she noticed his bag in his hand and she stood, still looking frantic. “I’m so sorry. You’re trying to get home and I just burst in here. I’ll go. I need to go home.”

“Ellie. Wait.” She froze, but Frank could almost feel how badly she wanted to run. “Do you want to talk about it?” This wasn’t his forte at all, but he couldn’t just let her leave and walk home after whatever had happened.

“It’s just, it’s my dad.” She took a breath. “He just showed up here and tried to get me into his car. And I’m afraid he’s going to be waiting for me when I go outside, or at my house or something. And my mom is working and she won’t be home until later and I just want him to go away. I just want my life to go back to normal.”

The words spilled out almost too fast for Frank to understand what she was saying, but he had never heard Ellie’s voice shake like that, even during her first debate practice, and he knew this was a big deal. 

“I’m sorry, Ellie. This is a lot for you to deal with.” He thought for a long moment, listening to Ellie’s gasping attempts to calm her breathing. “You said your mom is working, right?” She nodded. “And there’s no one else who could drive you home?” She shook her head. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. Text your mom and tell her I’m giving you a ride and I’m going to stay until she gets there.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

It was unorthodox, and he knew it. He would never ordinarily offer to drive a student home, but she was in a tough spot, and it was better than worrying she was going to be hurt or scared or worse. And, this way, he could talk to Karen. She was probably just as shaken up, and he still wanted to help, however she would let him.

The ride to her house was quiet, and Frank found himself scanning the horizon, looking for threats, even though he had no idea what he was looking for, really. Ellie fumbled with her keys, trying to unlock the door, but she got it open and locked it behind them as soon as they were both inside.

The house was small, but comfortable. It was obvious they had lived there for a while. Knick-knacks and childhood art projects covered most of the surfaces, and Frank spotted a few dishes in the sink. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a home, and he could feel the love and care that had gone into every element.

“Thank you, Mr. Castle,” Ellie said quietly, sitting on the couch, head in her hands. “And sorry for putting you out like this.”

“Happy to help, Ellie.” 

He was going to say more, if he could figure out what words to say to make her feel better, when he heard the crunch of car wheels in the driveway. Karen burst through the door, banging it against the wall in her haste, and she had crossed the room to pull Ellie into a hug before Frank could blink. He heard her murmuring something to her daughter, something much more comforting than anything he could have come up with, he was sure.

When they let go of each other, Karen turned to him, her arm still around her daughter. “Thank you, Frank. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help getting Ellie home safely.”

“Not a problem, ma’am. Like I told Ellie, I’m happy to help.”

Ellie whispered something to her, and Karen bit her lip. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter marks roughly 78,000 words of Kastle fic this year, and I couldn't be happier to be closing out 2019 with this particular story and this particular chapter. I love and appreciate everyone who has read, left kudos, commented, subscribed, or bookmarked anything I've written this year. Your support means more to me than you can know, and I feel so grateful to be in such a positive, supportive, truly lovely fandom community. I hope everyone has a lovely New Year's Eve, and starts 2020 with positivity, joy, and peace. I'll be back in the new year with more of this fic, and possibly some other ideas that I've been kicking around for a while.


	6. Chapter 6

It was the last thing she expected, and should have been the last thing she wanted, but seeing Frank there, at the end of her table, after the day she’d had, was comforting. She and Ellie had just thrown together pasta and sauce, and she had found a bag of frozen meatballs and a loaf of garlic bread in the freezer, and it wasn’t half-bad, especially on such short notice.

The bottle of wine she had opened certainly hadn’t hurt either, and she felt her racing heart start to slow as she finished her second glass. As soon as she had received that call from Ellie, every fear about what Todd might be capable of had rushed through her mind. She had left work early, but even that wasn’t soon enough. It wasn’t until she had Ellie in her arms that she was sure things were okay.

By the time they had finished eating, Ellie was yawning, and Karen sent her up to bed. She tried to protest, claiming that she had homework to do, but she was ready to fall asleep on her feet. 

“Night, Mom. Good night, Mr. Castle. Thank you again for helping me today.”

“Good night, Ellie. Get some rest.”

Once they were alone, Karen expected Frank to brush off her thanks and head out, but he stayed, sipping his wine, running his fingers over the spines of the secondhand books she had collected over the years. She watched him move through her space, and it should have felt strange, but he looked like he belonged there. She couldn’t exactly process that thought, at this moment, but she couldn’t ignore it either.

“You okay?” he asked quietly, and Karen paused, wrist-deep in soapy water. He was standing beside her now, but he wasn’t looking at her, wasn’t prying. She knew him well enough now, from their few interactions, to know that he just genuinely cared. Silence stretched between them for a long moment, as Karen tried to get her mind around all the ways she could answer that question.

She let out a shaky breath and shrugged. “I guess so. For now.”

“Want to talk about it?”

The dishes could wait. As much as she would usually deny it, she really did want to talk about it, and she wanted to talk about it with Frank. Somehow she felt that he might understand, better than most. Karen dried her hands and pulled out her secret bottle of whiskey from under the counter. “How much time do you have?”

Frank smiled gently and followed her over to the couch. He didn’t say a word, just waited until she was done taking a long draw from the bottle before reaching for it himself.

“I don’t know how much Ellie told you, but her dad is back in the picture.” Frank nodded. “He was the guy on my porch the other night.” He nodded again. Karen reached for the bottle and let the whiskey burn away whatever fears she still had about sharing this part of herself. She could trust Frank. She still didn’t know him very well, but he had helped them when he didn’t have to, and she trusted him. She couldn’t help it.

“What does he want?”

“I never told him about Ellie, and now he’s threatening to take her away from me.”

Frank scowled. “He what?”

Karen sighed. “He, uh, he said he got his life together and he’s ready to sue for custody, now that he knows about Ellie.”

“They’re not going to take her from you.” Frank said, sounding more confident than Karen expected.

“How can you be sure?”

“Listen, I agreed with whatever Maria wanted in our divorce, but even if I hadn’t, there was no way they were going to give me full custody after all the time I spent away from them.”

“Why not?”

“What my lawyer told me was that the father almost never gets primary custody over the mother unless there’s a serious concern about the child’s safety.”

Karen frowned. “And what if there is?”

“What are you talking about? You’ve done a great job with Ellie. She’s safe, clean, provided for, and she’s a great kid. No judge in the world is going to take her out of your home and give her to a father she doesn’t even know.”

She felt the pressure building inside her, the lies and the masks she had worn since she left her hometown falling away, piece by piece. She needed to let this out. “He has information on me. He’ll use it to get what he wants.”

“What do you mean?” Frank tugged the bottle out of her hands and took a sip. “What could he possibly have on you?”

“I used to be a very different person, Frank. I made a lot of bad decisions.” 

“Karen,” Frank said, voice low and gentle. “That doesn’t matter. Whatever you did in your past, it can’t be bad enough to take Ellie away from you.”

“I shot him.” Karen’s head fell into her hands as the words slipped out, remembering that day. “The last time I saw Todd, he tried to beat up my brother, and I shot him. And then I drove after drinking and doing drugs, and I killed my brother in a car crash. I did drugs, I sold drugs, and I hurt people.All of that is real, and he was a witness to all of it.” She was crying now, tears falling hot and fast down her cheeks. “I thought it was all behind me, but now Todd is back and I can’t risk Ellie. I can’t. I won’t.”

Frank’s hand fell to Karen’s back, warm and heavy as it traced circles over her sweater. He passed her the bottle again and she took a long drink. She was past buzzed, now, but she needed this. She couldn’t face her past, sober. Not tonight.

“No matter what happened in your past, no one can deny what a great job you’ve done with Ellie. No one is going to take her away from you, and if they try, I’m happy to beat them up for you.”

That startled a laugh out of Karen, and she glanced over to see Frank smile. “Thank you, Frank. I’m sure that won’t be necessary, but I appreciate the offer.”

“Anytime, ma’am.” 

Karen yawned, despite herself and Frank pulled his hand away, clearing his throat. Karen missed the weight of it as soon as it disappeared, but she didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t exactly the moment to try to go back to where they had been going last Friday, but she wished he wouldn’t go.

“You should get some sleep. You’ve had a tough day.” His brown eyes were heavy with something Karen couldn’t place, and she felt her breath catch in her throat. 

“Thank you, Frank. Really. For everything.” She sounded robotic to her own ears. It wasn’t the time to explore whatever this was between them, but it was hard to hold it back.

“Good night, Karen. You let me know if you need anything, okay?” He slid a paper with his phone number on onto the table. “Seriously. Anything you need.”

“I will.”

He hesitated at the door, tapping his fist against the door jamb a few times and shaking his head before he disappeared into the dark night.

It wasn’t exactly how she had planned to spend her evening, but it was nice to know she wasn’t facing all of this on her own. She picked up the scrap of paper with Frank’s number on it and ran her thumb over the digits. She wasn’t alone.

* * *

Frank tossed and turned all night after leaving Karen’s house. He didn’t want to push her, especially with everything else she had going on, but he hadn’t wanted to leave, either. She had been so fragile, so vulnerable, and he had so much respect for her, for sharing that part of her that she had left behind. Whatever she had done in her past, it was behind her, and it didn’t change anything. 

He woke up with a terrible hangover, but he poured himself a thermos of black coffee and shuffled into work anyway. His students were still working on their group projects, and he was able to keep it together for most of the day, but when Ellie’s class came in, she wasn’t there.

It wasn’t uncommon for students to be absent, but Ellie was always at school. Something had to be wrong.

He checked his phone between classes, but there was nothing from Karen. Just a reminder from Maria that he needed to take Lisa to basketball practice on Sunday morning and a text from Lieberman that included a few too many lewd emoticons for Frank’s comfort. Maybe he was overreacting, and he knew it was really none of his business, but he couldn’t help but feel anxious, not knowing what was going on.

He knew it was crazy to drive by their house, so he didn’t, but he did ask Curt to grab dinner with him so he could talk through the whole thing. It would keep him from doing something stupid, too.

“So, what’s up, man? Something happen with Karen?”

Frank sighed. He wouldn’t break Karen’s confidence, but something had definitely happened between them. Before he left her house, he had felt something, but it felt wrong to act on it, like he was taking advantage of her. “She’s got a lot going on.” 

“And you’re feeling like you can’t pursue her because of it?”

“Yeah, something like that.” 

“Is there anything you can do to help her with whatever she has going on?”

“I’ve tried, but I think she wants to handle it herself.”

Curtis folded his hands, tapping his fingers against his knuckles. “I don’t know what to tell you, man. I think you just need to be there for her, and once it all blows over, maybe then you can do something about whatever this thing is between you two.”

He was right, and Frank knew he was right, but it didn’t make it any easier, and it didn’t help him deal with the situation as it stood now. Now that he knew some of the details, he wanted nothing more than to find this guy and beat him to a pulp until he stopped threatening Karen and Ellie. He knew Karen thought he was joking when he mentioned it, but the idea that some scumbag would try to take her daughter away from her made his blood boil. He had left his violence behind when he left the Marines, but he could feel it creeping back in, in the corners of his mind, every time he thought about this guy.

Ellie was absent again the next day, and Frank was really starting to get worried, but he hadn’t taken Karen’s phone number, so there wasn’t much he could do about it. He just had to wait, and remind himself that this wasn’t his fight, not really.

Before school on Thursday, there was a knock on his door, and he looked up to see Ellie poking her head into the room.

“Hi, Mr. Castle. Can I come in for a second?”

“Ellie, hi! Are you okay?” He stood, and just restrained himself from hugging her, he was so relieved that she was there.

“Yeah, I just wanted to see what I missed, so I can make it up.”

“Oh, sure. The class has been working on the project from Monday, so you’ll have to check in with your group to see what they still need to finish.” She turned to go. “Wait. Are you sure you’re okay?”

She looked back at him, brow furrowed. “Yeah. Sorry about all the drama on Monday. My dad just filed paperwork for custody, and my mom and I needed a couple of days to figure things out, but we did, and I couldn’t miss any more school.” She sounded fairly calm, nothing like the panic that had overtaken her the last time he had seen her.

“Oh, good. You figured everything out?” 

“Yep. Or, at least I think so. Thanks again for everything!”

She really did leave this time, and Frank wondered what that meant, that they had figured everything out. It wasn’t his place to ask.

His phone buzzed, and it was from a number he didn’t recognize.

_Hey. It’s Karen. Can we meet somewhere to talk later?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think there are three or four more chapters left in this one, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I promise, things with Todd (and Karen and Frank) are going to heat up VERY soon, but for now, I just wanted them to build their relationship and process all of this together. Thank you to everyone for kudos and comments and all the love. You guys are the best!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Karen nearly left. She got to the bar first, and ordered a beer for herself and one for Frank, but while she sat and waited, she almost made a run for it. The last thing Frank needed was for her to dump all her worries and her anxieties on him. He had enough to worry about.

But as soon as he walked through the doors, flannel shirt rolled up to his elbows and concern in his dark eyes, Karen felt her shoulders relax, just a little.

“Hey, everything okay?” Frank said, sliding into the seat across from her. She had chosen a booth in the corner, at this bar on the edge of town where she hoped no one would be listening.

Karen shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so.” She ran a hand through her hair and took a long drink of her beer.

“You want to talk about it?”

She sighed and swallowed hard. She didn’t want to talk about it, but she needed to, or she was going to explode. She hadn’t wanted to burden Ellie with it, even though she knew her daughter wanted to help, and she just couldn’t do it all on her own anymore. It had been a whirlwind of finding a lawyer, laying out everything they needed to know that Todd would probably bring against her, and trying to sleep without letting her mind get away from her with all the ways this could go wrong.

“Todd is pushing everything to go faster, and I just feel so overwhelmed, you know? I have to find witnesses and evidence and provide financial records and copies of everything Ellie and I have ever done. And I’m working extra shifts to pay for the lawyer, and it’s just so much, you know?” She sank back into the cushion, all her energy draining out of her as she realized, too late, that she had just done what she was trying to avoid by spilling all of it to Frank like that. “Sorry. I know you have plenty on your own plate. I shouldn’t have called just to vent like this.”

“Hey,” he said, fingers twitching against his beer glass as he leaned down to catch her eye. “I told you to call me if you needed anything, and I meant it. Venting falls under that category.”   
“Thank you,” she said quietly.

“What do you need? Can I help at all?”

Tears welled in Karen’s eyes. “My lawyer gave me a whole list of things, and I’ve barely even started, but I can ask him. Really, thank you. You’re being so kind to me.”

Frank reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You don’t deserve anything less than that.”

Sniffling, Karen squeezed his hand back. “So, how are things with you?”

Frank smiled and let her change the subject without another word, dropping her hand as he started talking animatedly about himself. He told her all about his kids and what he was teaching at school and even a few stories about being in the Marines. He let her listen and ask whatever questions she wanted, and he made her laugh. She knew he was just trying to distract her, but it was working. She hadn’t even been able to smile for real since Todd had come back into her life.

He must have noticed she was getting back into her head, the longer they stayed there, because Frank reached over and took her hand again. “I know this is a lot for you right now, but you’re going to get through it. You feeling any better?”

Karen shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, actually I do.”

“Good.” His eyes were warm and the room was dark and the potential for her to make a decision that would ruin whatever this was that they had was too strong for her to stay. His thumb traced over her knuckles and she felt sparks radiating up her arm and over her whole body.

“I should probably get home and try to get through some of my list.” She grabbed her purse and tugged her hand out of Frank’s grasp, before she did something they both regretted.

“Of course. You let me know if there’s anything I can do. I’m not about to let anyone take that little girl away from you.”

“That means so much to me. Thank you for everything, Frank.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, you know. This guy has no idea who he’s messing with, getting into all this with you. You just let me know what you need, and I’m there. I promise.”

He walked her to her car and opened the driver’s side door for her. Karen hesitated before getting in. Frank was so close to her, and she had been feeling so alone, and now here he was, warm and strong and safe. He had admitted there was something there between them, sure, but that felt like a lifetime ago, before Todd and custody and all the fears that were weighing her down now. 

Frank leaned a fraction closer to her, and she caught the scent of his shampoo in the air. Her eyes fluttered closed and she wished, not for the first time, that she could just forget everything and go for what she wanted. She hadn’t been able to do that for a long time, and she knew she couldn’t start now.

“Good night, Karen,” he whispered, lips just brushing her cheek. All the breath went out of her lungs at the touch, and then he was gone by the time she managed to open her eyes again, moving away from her with a nod as he headed for his own car.

“Good night, Frank,” she whispered back, though she was sure he couldn’t hear her.

She was shaking, as she tried to get her keys into the ignition, and she took a moment to take a breath and gather herself. The last thing she needed right now was to get into a car accident. 

When she got home, Ellie was waiting for her, brow furrowed.

“The lawyer called. He said they’re going to use me as a witness.”

“What?”

* * *

Frank didn’t know how to feel, after his last meeting with Karen. Things had been going well. She had actually called him when she needed him. She told him what was going on. He made her laugh, he walked her to her car, and he thought, for just a moment, that she might kiss him, but he couldn’t push her. She had enough on her mind without him adding to it. He could wait. He’d still be here when all this was over. There was no doubt about that.

He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about it, though, wondering what might have happened between them, if all these other things weren’t holding them apart.

Ellie was absent again the next day, and Frank wondered how Karen’s list was going. He wasn’t about to add pressure to her day by asking about it, but he couldn’t help but worry about both of them. 

He got a call that day, just as he was walking out of work, but it wasn’t from Karen. It was from her lawyer, requesting a letter from him, but no further contact between the two of them while the hearings were still ongoing.

Frank was stunned. The lawyer absolutely refused to give any further information, but Frank knew he had to listen. It was too important that Karen keep Ellie, and he wasn’t about to do anything to jeopardize that, even if he didn’t understand it.

So, he wrote. He knew he had to strike a balance between knowing Karen and Ellie well, and knowing them so well that it would seem suspicious. He had never had to go through this with Maria, and he genuinely couldn’t understand what kind of man would want to take a child away from her mother, especially when he had never been part of her life before, but that was the situation, and he was going to do what he could to help, whatever that looked like

When he was finished, he wanted to run it by Karen and make sure that it was what she needed, but he knew he couldn’t do that, after his discussion with her lawyer. After a moment’s hesitation, he dialed another familiar number.

“Frank? Is everything okay?” Something in Maria’s voice calmed all the doubts racing through his mind. They might not be together anymore, but they would always care about each other. He never had to doubt that.

“Yeah, I just need your help with something. Or advice, I guess.”

“What’s up?” He heard Maria bracing the phone against her shoulder and the sound brought him back to when they were married, when he was deployed, when the kids were small and she didn’t really have time to talk to him on the phone while taking care of everything at home, but made the time anyway. He missed that. He knew he couldn’t have it with Maria anymore, but he wanted to find it again. He wondered if maybe he could, sooner than he had ever thought possible.

Frank cleared his throat. “There’s this woman, Karen. Her daughter is in my class at school and she and I have been getting to know each other a little bit.” He paused. He had to give Maria a way out of this if it was uncomfortable for her. They had never talked about what it would be like if and when one of them found someone new, but he knew she’d tell him if she didn’t want to do this. She had never been shy about things like that.

“Okay.” She sounded skeptical, and Frank was ready for her to really go after him, like she used to when he did something stupid, holding his breath while he waited for the hammer to drop. “So, what do you need my help with?”

“Her ex is in town, suing for custody, even though he’s never been around and Ellie’s never even met him.” Maria hummed, and Frank took that as encouragement. She hadn’t told him off yet, so maybe there was still a chance. “Her lawyer asked me to write a letter to support her keeping custody, and I just need someone else to look at it who knows about this kind of stuff.”

“What, divorce?” She laughed lightly. “We both certainly know about that.”

“Will you help me?”

“Send it to me. I’ll see what I can do.” Maria always came through for him. When it really came down to it, he never really had to worry about that.

Frank couldn’t stop pacing while he waited for her response, but when it came, he almost didn’t want to open it. He had never been good at this kind of thing. Even his wedding vows had been a challenge for him, all his feelings coming together in a swirl that didn’t really make a whole lot of sense when he wrote them down. Maria would certainly pull no punches if what he had written wasn’t good enough.

_ Frank, _ Maria wrote,  _ This is everything I would want someone to say about me as a mother if it came down to it. It’s obvious you care for this woman and her daughter, and I just want you to know that I’ve only ever wanted you to be happy. Good luck. _

Frank swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and sent the letter to Karen’s lawyer. He wasn’t sure it would be enough, but he had to hope he would help her keep her family together. 

He was surprised when he got a call the following day, from that same lawyer, asking him to come in and read his letter into the record. He agreed before the lawyer had even finished the question. He had never been to court before, but he was ready to do this, for Karen and for Ellie.

And that was how he found himself walking up to the courthouse on the following Friday, ready to fight for Karen and Ellie in whatever way he could. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to either of them. He had made a promise, and he intended to keep it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay between the last chapter and this one. Life has been coming at me pretty aggressively over the last couple of weeks and I just haven't had the energy or inspiration to write.
> 
> Anyway, based on my plan for the rest of this, we have about three chapters to go, but for now, enjoy this last chapter before we have to see Todd again and finish this custody fight once and for all.
> 
> Thank you so much for all the support and love and kudos and comments. I'm so glad you all are enjoying this AU, and I so appreciate you coming on this journey with me. <3


	8. Chapter 8

Karen didn’t sleep, the night before they went to court. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw faceless police officers taking Ellie away from her and pushing her towards Todd, or bars closing in front of her eyes forever. She might lose everything she had fought so hard to build, and she couldn’t face that.

By the time she got to the courthouse, she was already exhausted, but roughly a gallon of coffee and her own anxiety had her buzzing. She saw Todd come through the doors, with his sleazy-looking lawyers trailing behind him, and she thought she might be sick.

“Mom. It’s going to be okay.” Ellie squeezed her hand. Karen had tried to keep her from being part of this, but her lawyer insisted that it would look bad if they didn’t let her speak. She was old enough to have an opinion, and she certainly wasn’t afraid to share it. Karen had to let her do it, as much as it pained her to even see her daughter here, in a courthouse. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She didn’t deserve to go through this.

“I know.” She tried to take a breath, to still her racing heart, but nothing could stop her hands from shaking. She just wanted to get this whole thing over with.

“Okay, so slight change of plans.” Her lawyer, Mr. Nelson, slid into the seat beside her. They were still waiting in the hallway, and the reverberating sounds of heels clicking on the tile and doors slamming shut around her were not helping Karen’s nerves. “Nothing major, but I managed to get the judge and the other lawyer to agree to hold the hearing in a smaller room, and not in the full courtroom.”

“What does that mean?”

“Basically, you and Todd will be there the whole time, with your lawyers, of course, but everyone else will just come in for their portion and then leave again.”

“So, I can’t be there with my mom?” Ellie said, her voice rising slightly, echoing against the marble walls to vibrate against Karen’s skin.

“It’s better this way. It will go faster, and it will be easier on everyone.”

“Thank you,” Karen said quietly. Ellie scoffed, ready to protest, and Karen turned to her. “Listen to me. I know you want to be there with me, and I love you for that, but you need to trust me. I don’t want you to be there to hear all the things your father and his lawyers are going to say about me.”

“But mom,” Ellie whined. 

“No, honey. I know you want to protect me, but let me protect you this time, okay?”

She nodded, still scowling as she folded her arms over her chest. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, honey.” She pulled Ellie close, into a tight hug, and didn’t let go until Mr. Nelson cleared his throat.

“We have to go,” he said, apologetic frown on his face.

He followed Karen into a small chamber and directed her to sit in a chair on the right side of the table. The door closed quickly behind her, and she couldn’t even look back in time to see Ellie before she was trapped inside this room. Todd was already seated across from her. She refused to make eye contact. He didn’t even deserve that.

There was a buzzing in her ears that just wouldn’t clear, while Todd’s lawyers laid out every single thing she had ever done wrong in her life, conveniently glossing over the fact that he had been right there with her the whole time, often pushing her to try new things that inevitably got her into trouble..

She had to look at the hospital photos of Todd’s gunshot wound, old polaroids of her, partying with her shirt off at some college party, but that wasn’t the worst of it.

Todd and his lawyers had tracked down the police report and all the pictures of the accident that had killed Kevin. The same accident that had driven her out of Vermont and into the life she was trying so desperately to hold onto.

And then it was Todd’s turn to speak. She and her lawyers had decided that she wouldn’t testify, wouldn’t give his lawyers a chance to attack her and berate her and break her down, but no one was stopping Todd.

“I had a lot of plans, you know? I wanted to go to college, make a life. And then I met Karen, and everything went down the drain. There were drugs, parties, staying out all night.”

“What happened the last time you saw Ms. Page in Vermont?’

“She shot me. In cold blood. I found out later that she ended up crashing her car and killing her brother. Didn’t surprise me.”

The room was too hot. Karen couldn’t breathe. Every time she tried, she could smell the gasoline and oil and the metallic scent of the blood that had been everywhere. When she looked down, she half-expected to see red on her palms. It was like everything that had happened since that horrible night had vanished, and she was still that lost, terrified girl who had finally done one thing she could never take back. 

“I need some air,” she whispered to Mr. Nelson, who nodded. She slipped out into the hallway and sank back against the wall, fighting to take a breath and clear the dizziness that was threatening to overtake her.

“Karen?” She looked up to see Frank, standing in front of her, concern in his eyes, and some of the darkness at the corners of her vision cleared. “You okay?”

She couldn’t even form the words to explain exactly how not okay she was, but she managed a half-shrug, half-nod. Ellie appeared at her shoulder with a bottle of water, and Karen gulped down half of it before she managed to take a real, deep breath.

“Mom?” The fear in Ellie’s eyes brought Karen back to reality. She had said she would protect her, and she wasn’t going to break that promise now.

“I’m okay.” Her voice was hoarse, like she had been shouting for hours, instead of holding back the howling screams that kept threatening to tear their way out of her chest.

“You sure?” Frank was still watching her carefully, like he was ready to catch her if she collapsed. 

She took another slow breath and nodded, resolve firmly back in place. “Yes. Thank you. See you both in a bit.”

With one last steadying breath, Karen pushed the door open again. She could face her past. It had nothing to do with her present, and she knew that Kevin would be so proud of what she had made of herself.

“Glad you could join us again, Ms. Page,” the judge said. “It’s time to present your case.”

Karen nodded, and Mr. Nelson presented everything they had, from her financial records to Ellie’s report cards to a character reference from her boss at the diner, praising her work ethic and dedication.

By the time they got to the witnesses, Karen was feeling a bit better. It was gratifying to see all her hard work quantified that way, even if it was for a terrible reason.

They called Frank in first. He looked great, in a suit with no tie, a detail that Karen had somehow failed to notice during her panic attack. He sat at the end of the table and smiled gently at her.

“Will you please state your name for the record?”

“Frank Castle.”

“Thank you, Mr. Castle. Please read the statement you prepared.”

He cleared his throat. “I was asked to prepare a character reference for Ms. Karen Page. I have known Ms. Page for only a few months, but I have known her daughter, Penelope, for the last three years. She has been in my classes, and she recently joined my debate team. I can say, with absolute certainty, that she has been raised by a caring, attentive, extremely loving parent, because there is no way she would be the driven, hard-working, and kind person she is if her mother had not raised her to be one. The bond between Ms. Page and her daughter is incredible to see, and I can only hope to have such a strong relationship with my own children when they are Ellie’s age. I can honestly say that I have never met a parent who cares as deeply about their child as Ms. Page, and I can’t think of any other place for Ellie to be that would be better for her. As an educator and a parent, I feel strongly that it would be extremely harmful to take Ellie away from the stable, loving home she has had for the last seventeen years, and I stand firmly behind Karen Page in her pursuit of sole custody of her daughter.”

Karen felt tears welling in her eyes, and she wanted to thank Frank, but her lawyer had warned her not to cause any interruptions, for fear of antagonizing the judge. Todd’s lawyers asked a couple of questions, but Karen hardly heard what was said. When he was finished, he pushed his chair back and left the room.

She watched him disappear behind the doors and knew that there was only one witness left: Ellie. She wasn’t sure how much weight the judge would place on either of their testimony, but she felt better to know that she wasn’t alone.

As Ellie walked through the doors, head held high, and looking nowhere but towards Karen, Karen felt, for the first time since this whole thing had started, that maybe, just maybe, things were going to be alright.

* * *

Frank’s heart was pounding as he left the room, and he hoped it would be enough. He had said what he felt, and that was all he could do. The lawyers had asked him questions about Karen that had nothing to do with the person she was now. She might have been that person once, when she was doing all the things she had told him she used to do, but that wasn’t her, anymore. She was a great mom, and a great person. Nothing they implied or insinuated about her would change that. Not for him.

He watched as Ellie vanished behind the heavy wooden doors and sat down to wait. He knew Ellie was last on the list, and then it would be up to the judge, but it didn’t make it any easier to pass the time while he waited.

He couldn’t focus on his phone, and he hadn’t thought to bring a book. His mind kept racing, going over and over the words he had said to support Karen. Had he said enough? Too much? 

Finally, after what felt like hours, the doors opened again, and everyone filed out. Karen and Ellie walked past him, Karen’s arm around Ellie’s shoulders as she whispered urgently to her daughter. He thought he saw tears on Ellie’s cheeks and his heart dropped into his stomach.

Karen’s lawyer came out last, and Frank touched his arm to stop him.

“Hey. Thanks for your statement. I think it really helped.” His voice was clipped, abrupt, and it did nothing to ease Frank’s mind.

“What happened in there?”

The lawyer sighed. “I can’t really talk about it. We didn’t get the result we wanted. Not today. But we’ll come back tomorrow and find out what the next steps are.”   
Well, that was cryptic. Frank sank back onto the wooden bench and thought it over. He wanted to call Karen and ask her how she was doing, but it wasn’t that simple. Her lawyer hadn’t said it was okay for him to contact her now, and he wasn’t about to jeopardize things when it sounded like it wasn’t all resolved yet.

He pulled out his phone and dialed Curtis’ number. “Meet me for a drink?”

“Sure thing. I’m out with Lieberman. That okay?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

He met them at their usual bar, and Curtis had already ordered him a beer. He wasn’t sure that was going to be strong enough, but it was a start.

“How you holding up?” Curtis said, in that gentle voice he used to soothe an honors student who got an A-.

“Fine.”

“Yeah, right.” Frank glared at Lieberman, but he just shrugged. “You look like shit, man. What happened today?”

“I said my piece. That’s all I could do. And then everyone left and no one would tell me anything, but I swear it’s not good.”

“So much for not getting involved,” Lieberman said, laughing.

“Shut up, Lieberman,” Frank and Curtis said together. 

“I didn’t mean to get involved. You both know that.” They nodded, almost rolling their eyes. He had been talking about this non-stop for the last week. “But there’s something different about her. I haven’t felt this way in a long time.”

“I think it’s good, man. Not the situation, obviously,” Curtis said, holding up his hands, “but you letting yourself have feelings for someone. Moving on from Maria. That’s a good sign.”

“Or a sign I’m crazy.” Frank let his head fall into his hands. This conversation wasn’t helping as much as he had hoped. Not that he thought his friends would be able to fix things, but he was feeling more confused than ever. Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten so invested in all this, especially when he couldn’t really do all that much to help.

“No, Curt is right,” Lieberman said. “I’m happy for you. I hope it all works out. For both of you.”

Frank blinked at him. “Wow, uh, thanks?”

“What? I can’t be happy for you finding someone?” He scoffed. “Now, you’ll have no excuse not to come over for dinner when Sarah invites you, at least once this all works itself out.”

Frank smiled. “Deal.”

As he drained his beer, a wave of exhaustion rolled over him, and Frank excused himself. It had been a very long day. A long week, if he was honest. He hadn’t been sleeping well, worrying about the hearing, and he could only imagine how bad it had been for Karen and Ellie. All he wanted now was to get into his bed and get some sleep. 

He was just about to do that when he heard a soft knock at his door. Creeping carefully to peek out the window, he saw a familiar silhouette, blonde hair blowing gently in the cool breeze.

“Karen?” he said, throwing open the door. Her eyes were red, and there were tear tracks down her cheeks. She had a bottle of whiskey in one hand.

“Can I come in?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to admit, much of my knowledge of custody battles comes from Gilmore Girls, which I may or may not have been watching while I was writing this, but I also did some additional research and wow, there are a lot of things I didn't get into here, but which will be very important for the conclusion of this fic. I will make the judge's final determination clear in the next chapter (or maybe the one after that), but since the tags have said _Eventual Smut_ from the beginning, I feel I should alert/warn you, the smut is coming next chapter, so look for that in the next week or so!
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos, comments, love, and support. We're almost to the end, and I feel so grateful to be in such a lovely, supportive fandom with all of you! <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter is roughly 50% smut. If that's not your thing, feel free to skip this one. Otherwise, enjoy!

Karen saw the shock on Frank’s face when she appeared on his doorstep, but it was too late to turn back now. He stood back and showed her inside, and she spotted a little basket of toys in the corner, children’s books scattered across the coffee table, between piles of papers, marked red with edits and grades. Her eyes went wide and she took a step back.

Frank followed her gaze and shook his head. “I switched weekends with Maria.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. Figured my head wouldn’t be in it right now, and that’s not fair to them.”

Tears welled in Karen’s eyes, like they had been since she left the courthouse. “You knew I would come over?”

“No.” He smiled gently. “No. I was pretty sure you wouldn’t, actually, with your lawyer and everything. Just needed to get my head back on straight before my kids come over.”

“Think this will help with that?” She held up the bottle of whiskey and his smile widened.

“Think it might.” He took the bottle from her and she followed him into the kitchen. He pulled down two glasses and poured them each a healthy amount of whiskey.

“Cheers.” Karen clinked her glass against Frank’s and took a long drink.

“You want to talk about it?”

She didn’t have to ask what he meant. She sighed, all her emotions bubbling up in her chest after holding them back all day.

“What happened in there?”

Karen closed her eyes, the memories of the day flooding back to her. “Ellie did so great. She told them that she doesn’t want to live anywhere but with me, and if they send her to live with her dad, she’s just going to move out as soon as she turns 18.” The tears were starting to fall, and she didn’t even wipe them away. Just thinking about her amazing girl, sitting there with all those adults, speaking her mind like that, made her so proud. “But the judge said he needed to think about his decision, given the ‘serious concerns’ raised about my past. So, my baby is staying at a stranger’s house and I can’t even see her.” Squeezing her eyes shut, Karen felt a sob tear through her, raw and hollow.

Frank’s arms were around her before the next tear fell. He pulled her against his chest in a hard embrace, and Karen finally let herself fall apart, turning to press her face against his shoulder. His hand stroked through her hair, smoothing out the tangles and soothing her frayed nerves as he murmured comforting words that rumbled through her.

When she had managed to collect herself again, sniffling and wiping at the tears still seeping out of the corners of her eyes, Frank was watching her, dark eyes warm and gentle. He was still holding her, and she couldn’t stop staring into those eyes that, for the first time since she entered the courthouse that morning, were making her feel safe.

“They’re not taking her from you. They’re not.” He sounded so fierce and so sure that she had no choice but to believe him.

She couldn’t blame it on the whiskey, and she didn’t want to. Karen finally did what she had wanted to do since the first time she saw Frank, and kissed him. He froze for a moment, hands stilling against her back, but then he pulled her closer, palm cupping the side of her face. His tongue was in her mouth and the sensation of it, the taste of him, the smell of him overwhelmed her. She hadn’t felt so good in a long time. Possibly ever, if she was being honest with herself. It was a sobering thought.

Karen took a step back, pressing herself away from him, heart racing. Frank’s eyes shot open, and he put his hands up.

“Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry if I got carried away.” The pain and guilt on his face broke Karen’s heart.

“No, Frank, I’m sorry. I just, I don’t know how to do this anymore. I don’t know if I’ve ever known how to do this, really. I ruin everything I touch, and I don’t want to ruin this.”

“Listen to me.” His voice was a low growl, and it sent shivers racing over Karen’s body. “Please. I need you to hear this. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I met you. The more I learn about you, the more I like you and the more I care about you. It’s not even just that you’re a great mom, which you are, but you’re a good person. And not good like you put your grocery cart away and tip well when you go out to eat. I mean  _ good _ , like fundamentally, deep-down, thoroughly incredible as a human being. So please, stop talking about yourself like you’re anything other than amazing, because I know it’s not true, and it’s time you do, too.”

Karen had stopped breathing somewhere in the middle of Frank’s speech. The words washed over her, and she felt how much he meant them. There was a fire in his eyes that made it impossible for her to look away.

“I know you don’t believe me. I can see it all over your face. But I’m not going to stop telling you until you do. I’m just not.” 

She couldn’t help it. She kissed him again, and this time, she wasn’t going to stop. If he believed in her that much, it was the least she could do to try. If he wasn’t scared of all the ways she could destroy everything they had both built, maybe she didn’t need to be quite so terrified either.

This time, it was Karen who pulled him towards her, hands around his neck. It was time for her to take a leap of faith, and she knew Frank would catch her if she fell. He already had.

She focused on the feeling of his short hair against her fingertips, the taste of the whiskey on his tongue, the smell of his soap, everything that made him the man he was. She finally let go of everything holding herself back, and pressed her body against his, swallowing the groan that emanated out of him as she did it.

Frank was the one to pull away this time, but he didn’t go far, leaning his forehead against hers with a shaking breath.

“I meant what I said, before. All of it. You don’t have to prove anything to me. We don’t have to do anything. I’ll be here, no matter what.”

Karen bit her lip, pushing down the spike of fear that surged inside her to get the words out. “I want this, Frank. I want you. Please.”

* * *

Frank wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t dreaming. Karen was here, in his arms, and there were no more secrets between them. He had laid all his feelings on the table and she was still here. Everything that had kept them apart had fallen away, and there was no going back now. She was looking at him, with those blue eyes he could drown in, and he was helpless to resist her. 

“Please,” she said again, voice wavering a little. She was fragile and vulnerable, and Frank didn’t want to take advantage of her, but she was asking him, begging him, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want her too.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she breathed, kissing him again, and he was lost. Karen’s body against his, her tongue pressing past his lips, her perfume swirling around him like a cloud, was all too much.

With a growl, he tugged her forward as he moved them towards his bedroom. He was going to do this right, with her, not in his kitchen, with the dirty dishes from his dinner still in the sink. He had to break their kiss to get up the stairs without killing them both, but Karen slid her hand into his, and that was perfect, too.

Her fingers found the buttons of his shirt as soon as he turned back towards her, and his shirt was sliding off his shoulders and onto the floor before he could blink. The feeling of her hands on his bare skin made all the blood rush straight to his groin. Frank took her hands in his and breathed, deep and slow, savoring this moment. They didn’t need to rush this.

Dropping her hands, he trailed his fingers along the hem of her shirt, and her hands found their way back behind his head, tickling the hairs he had just trimmed the other day. He slid his hands under her shirt, her soft skin sliding under his palms. Karen lifted her arms, and Frank tugged her shirt over her head, leaving her in nothing but her bra and the pencil skirt she had worn to court. It hugged her hips, and Frank smoothed the fabric down, feeling the heat of her body through her clothes.

He caught her lips again, and felt a moan rumble through her as he unzipped her skirt and let it pool around her feet. She stepped out of her heels, and Frank traced the edges of her lacy panties with his fingertips, dipping them underneath to stroke against her center and dragging gasps and groans from deep inside her when he hit the right spot. She was so warm and so soft and just everything he had imagined, but more.

He could never have imagined it could be like this, with her. He had spent so long, telling himself he could never have this, could never have her, and he wasn’t going to let her slip away.

He eased her backwards, until her knees bent to sit on the edge of the bed. She leaned towards him, fumbling with his belt until it released. He let her work at her own pace, fingers unfastening his pants and letting them fall to his ankles. Stepping out of them, he sank to his knees in front of her, and Karen trailed her fingers over his shoulders, down his arms, locking his fingers with hers.

“Are  _ you  _ sure?” she whispered, eyes wide and voice shaking.

Frank squeezed her hands and stood, pulling her up with him. “Yes. Are you? We don’t have to do anything if you’re not.”

“I’m sure.” Frank kissed her again, tugging her body against his. The sensation of her bare chest against his nearly sent him over the edge, but he was going to make this last. He was going to make this good for her. Karen moaned, low in her chest, one hand snaking between them to graze against his length. Frank shivered at the touch, and she squeezed a bit, smiling against his lips.

Turning, Frank pulled her down on top of him. Karen ground against him, the heat of her making Frank squirm. He was trying so hard to let her set the pace, but she was making it more difficult than he had planned.

Fortunately, Karen seemed to have the same feeling, sliding his boxers down to his ankles as she rose above him to shimmy out of her panties. Now, there really was nothing between them, nothing holding them back. He could feel the wet heat of her, sliding against him in her eagerness to feel him inside her.

Frank leaned away from her for a moment to reach his bedside table drawer. He didn’t even know why he had bought condoms, it had been so long since sex had even been on the table for him, but he was damn glad to have them now.

Karen took the foil square from his fingers and tore it open, rolling it down to cover him. As soon as she withdrew her hand, she sank down onto him, stretching around him. She was so hot and so wet and so ready, it made Frank’s heart stutter in his chest, and he had to take a long breath to keep from losing it right then and there.

And then, she started to move, circling her hips and grinding against him while he tried to keep up. Her hair fell around her shoulders, pale skin almost glowing in the warm light of the room while her body gyrated above him. She looked like an angel, and as far as Frank was concerned, she might as well be. Reaching one hand up to ghost over her breast, he watched, fascinated and in awe, as she shuddered to climax, walls clenching around him as she came down the other side. She fell against his chest, and Frank kissed her cheek, her neck, her shoulder, stroking her hair as the aftershocks rolled over her.

When she had caught her breath, Frank rolled them over, and felt himself slip even deeper inside her. 

“Frank,” Karen murmured, blinking up at him with those incredible eyes as her fingers traced the scars of his past. Her gentle touch raised goosebumps on his skin, and he shivered, sliding almost all the way out of her before falling back inside. He pushed her knees up and apart, resting them against his chest, and eased her open with each stroke. It wasn’t rough, it wasn’t hurried. He felt everything, like time had slowed down, like there was nothing in the world besides Karen, besides this.

He knew he couldn’t last much longer, so he reached between them, circling her clit until she was writhing beneath him, shaking with the effort of holding herself together.

“Let go, Karen. Let go.”

As she did, Frank couldn’t hold back either, and he collapsed on top of her as they came together. All he could hear was their twin, racing heartbeats, pounding in his ears, and he didn’t want to pull away. The feeling of being inside her, connected in such a powerful way, was almost too much. They had shared something powerful, something real, and if he hadn’t been sure before, he knew it now: Karen was it, for him. He hadn’t been sure he’d ever find this again, but it was undeniable now. 

When he felt his heart rate returning to normal, Frank slid Karen off of him and pulled her to his side. She tucked her head against his shoulder and traced patterns on his chest with her fingertip.

“I’m really glad I came over tonight,” she whispered.

“Me too.” Frank pressed a kiss to the top of her head and squeezed her closer. “You don’t think your lawyer’s going to be mad, do you?”

“Screw it. It’s out of his hands, anyway.”

Frank smiled. “You want to stay over?”

He felt her grinning against his skin as she nodded. “Yeah. I really do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay getting this out. Life keeps interfering with my inspiration and time to write, but the final chapter will (hopefully) be up in the next week or so! Thank you so much for all the support and love for this fic! I really appreciate all of you coming on this journey with me, and I can't wait to close it out strong with the last chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

It was still dark when Karen woke, the first grey rays of dawn just beginning to glow through the blinds. For a moment, she didn’t remember where she was, or why there was someone beside her, warm and solid, and then everything came back to her with a rush of heat.

She blinked hard, still not entirely sure she wasn’t dreaming, hadn’t imagined the whole thing. She shifted, and Frank’s arm slid around her waist as he nuzzled against her back, mumbling something in his sleep.

Karen relaxed against him, letting his body heat warm her all the way through. Her mind was still racing with all the possible ways things could turn out with Ellie, with Frank, with Todd, but she found her eyes closing anyway, lulled back to sleep by the slow rhythm of Frank’s breathing and the gentle thump of his heart against hers.

She felt like she had just fallen back to sleep, when she heard her phone buzzing against the surface of the bedside table.

Reaching for her phone, she nearly knocked it off the table, but she managed to get her hands around it, sitting up to answer whoever was calling at this time of the morning. The sun was up now, gentle light striping the room with warmth, but it was early, especially for a Saturday.

“Hello?” She felt Frank waking beside her, rubbing a hand over his face as he blinked up at her. Karen held a sheet against her chest, shifting her weight to settle against the headboard. She felt raw, exposed, in the bright light of day.

A robotic voice responded to her. “Your hearing has been scheduled for Saturday, November 16th, at eleven a.m. with Judge Matthews. Please confirm by pressing one. Please request a new date or time by pressing two and following the instructions provided to you.”

Karen pressed the button with shaking fingers and heard the robo-call hang up on the other end. Taking a deep breath, she let the phone fall from her fingers and tried to slow her racing heartbeat. She hadn’t expected to hear anything until Monday at least. She wasn’t ready.

“Everything okay?” Frank mumbled, voice low and rough with sleep as he pushed himself up to sit beside her..

“The judge is going to tell us his decision today.”

“That’s good, right?”

“I hope so.” She bit her lip and let her head fall back against the wall.

“It’s going to be good. I know it.” Frank pressed a kiss to her forehead and pushed himself out of bed. “You hungry?”

She shrugged. “Not really.”

“Come on. My French toast is world-famous.”

“Oh, yeah?” She couldn’t help but smile. “Guess I’ll have to see why, huh?”

“Definitely.” He held out his hands to pull her to her feet, and Karen hardly noticed as the sheet fell away, leaving her bare before him. Frank pulled her against him, hands splayed against the small of her back. “It’s going to be good,” he said again, kissing her gently. “Shower’s through there if you want it. Come down when you’re ready.”

He pulled on a pair of pajama pants and padded barefoot down the stairs, still shirtless, and unfairly attractive. Karen wished she could just stay in bed with him all day, but they had something much more important to do.

The shower washed away some of the remaining nerves, hot water searing into her skin and cleansing her of the doubts that had haunted her for so long. By the time she was finished, she almost believed things were going to work out. They had to. Anything else was just not an option.

She could smell the maple and butter in the air as she walked downstairs, and she turned the corner into the kitchen to find Frank standing at the stove, towel thrown over his shoulder as he whistled a song that she couldn’t quite place.

Feeling suddenly bold, Karen snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He tensed for a second, before relaxing under her touch and leaning back to kiss her cheek.

“First batch is just about done,” he said, flipping two pieces of bread onto a plate and dusting them with powdered sugar. He slid the plate into her hand and nodded at the counter. “Have a seat.”

The first bite was everything Karen needed. Sugar and fat and comfort spread over her tongue and she hummed with delight. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was, taking bite after bit until the plate was nearly clean.

“See?” Frank said, smiling smugly at her. “World-famous.”

“I can see why.” He slid into the seat beside her, setting a mug of coffee in front of her. Karen took it, sipping at it gratefully. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

He just shook his head. “No need for all that.”

“But…”

“No. Karen. I meant everything I said last night. I want to be there for you, and if that means French toast and coffee, that’s what it means. Now, let’s finish up here and head to the courthouse. Finish this thing.”

She nodded, and Frank smiled again, squeezing her hand.

* * *

Frank was acting confident and strong, because he knew that Karen needed it, but his hands were shaking where they gripped the steering wheel as he drove them to the final hearing on custody of Ellie. 

He knew he couldn’t go in with her, but sitting outside was so much worse, hearing nothing but the low murmur of voices through the heavy wooden doors. After what felt like hours, the doors finally opened again, and Karen emerged, wide smile on her face.

She didn’t even have to say a word. Frank knew. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. He lifted her and spun her around, feeling lighter than he had in weeks.

He saw Ellie’s father slinking away behind them and wanted to laugh. He really thought he could go after something as beautiful as Karen and Ellie’s relationship and win. What an idiot.

“Take me home, please.” Karen’s voice was shaking, but Frank was glad to hear the tremble from excitement, instead of that intense fear that had been shadowing every conversation they had had for the last several weeks, since this whole thing began.

When they got back to her house, Ellie was already there, sprinting towards the car to rip the door open and embrace her mom. They were both crying, and Frank felt tears spring to his eyes as well. He couldn’t imagine how they were feeling, how it would feel to think your family might be torn apart like that, but everything had worked out as well as any of them could have hoped.

“I’m going to go. Let you guys catch up,” he said, trying not to interrupt their moment.

“No.” Karen turned, wiping her eyes. “Please, come in.”

“Yeah. You should.” Ellie beamed at him.

“You sure?” He was ready to explain all the reasons why he shouldn’t, but Karen reached for him and he was helpless to resist her.

“Yes. Please. Come in.”

He knew what this meant, and he was impossibly honored to be in this position. He wasn’t just coming in for the afternoon one Saturday; he was in this, and he wasn’t going anywhere.

_ Six months later… _

It was the final debate of the season. State championship. All of Frank’s attention should have been on the two teenagers on the stage, but blonde hair in the corner of his vision kept drawing his gaze. Karen smiled at him every time it happened, and it was hard to pull his eyes away.

Forcing himself to look back at the stage, he managed to catch the end of Ellie’s last point about the injustice and hypocrisy at the heart of the death penalty, supported by several of the sources she had found in her research. She had come so far, despite everything that had happened that year. 

Todd had vanished again after the judge made his decision, despite the judge granting him supervised custody every other weekend, but it had taken some time to get everything back on solid footing even after he was gone for good.

“Thank you to both teams,” the judge said. “This was an excellent championship debate, and both teams did exceptionally well, but there can only be one winner. The state champion debate team is the team presenting the negative, Edison High School.”

Frank couldn’t stop grinning, watching Ellie and Luke, her partner, accept the trophy and hold it up for the room to see. Ellie nearly jumped down off the stage to run to her mom and hug her, chattering excitedly about all the details of what she did, and the mistakes the other team made, and everything that had gotten them to this point. She didn’t pull away from her mom when Karen started stroking her hair and trying to get her to take a breath between sentences. Watching how their relationship had developed since Todd appeared and then disappeared had been amazing. They had been close before, but now, there was no getting between them. Not that Frank would ever try. 

Frank moved towards them, slowly, giving them their space, but Ellie’s face lit up when she saw him, and he knew he wasn’t intruding. They were in too deep for that at this point. He was about to hug her himself, congratulate her for her big win, but his phone rang and he held up a finger.

“Hello?”

“Hey.” It was Maria. He turned away, brow furrowed. She didn’t often call like this.

“Something wrong?”

“No. I just had a favor to ask you.”

“Shoot.”

“Could you take the kids tonight?”

“Sure. What’s going on?”

Maria hesitated, and Frank’s mind whirred with the possibilities. “I have a date.”

He smiled. “Yeah? That’s great, Maria. I’d be happy to take the kids. I can come get the kids in like a half hour, if that works.”

“I can drop them on my way out.”

“Deal. Hold on a second.” He turned back to Karen and Ellie. “You guys want to go get ice cream?” They nodded and he uncovered the phone. “We’ll be at the ice cream shop downtown in fifteen.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Frank.”

In the ice cream parlor, half an hour later, Frank couldn’t stop thinking about how comfortable it all felt, with Karen and Ellie and his kids, all together in one place. It had only been a few months, but they were his family now, too. He hadn’t been sure he could ever find someone else, after Maria, but he knew now that Karen was everything he needed. 

She squeezed his hand and snuggled closer in the booth, leaning her head against his shoulder while she watched Frankie drip chocolate sauce all over the table and Lisa asking Ellie about makeup and high school and boys. 

Frank kissed the side of her head, looping an arm around her shoulders. “Thank you,” he murmured, low enough that the kids couldn’t hear him.

“No. No need for that,” she whispered back. Turning her head to kiss him, she smiled against his lips as the kids made grossed-out noises from the other side of the table. “Oh, stop that. You guys want to watch a movie tonight?”

Frankie and Lisa cheered, and Ellie shrugged, but Frank knew she’d join them. Piling into the car, kids chattering away in the backseat, Frank realized something: he was happy. They were happy. And that was everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We made it! Thank you for coming with me on this journey. I love and appreciate every single one of you for reading, leaving kudos, commenting, and sharing this fic. It has been a labor of love, and I'm pretty proud of this one. See you for the next one! <3


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